Minor Setback
by SweetSauce
Summary: Cuddy and House had a kid back when they were in college. House didn't know about him until his boy genius son is 15 and in college. House tries to make-up for lost time by wooing Cuddy, and hiring his son as his assistant. Huddy, AU, KidFic.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

_**2002**_

As Jake was picking up his luggage from the baggage carousel, his cell phone began to vibrate. The familiar voice began with "Hi Hon, its Mom." Jake smiles, as the voice on the other end continues "I'm on my way; there was an accident at the interstate so I'm running a little late." Jake replies "its okay Mom. My flight was delayed too, so I just got off the plane." Jake said goodbye to his Mom and told her that he would meet her at the express pick-up gate. At quick glance, Jake looks like any typical young man—tall, dark curly hair, piercing blue eyes, and a ready smirk. However, typical is not a word one would use to describe Jake's life. He has spent much of his young life as a first hand witness to two accomplished women of their generation. Emma Cuddy is one of the top female diplomats in the US Foreign Service. Nana, as Jake refers to her, can charm her way through treaties and negotiations and still be home in time to tuck Jake into bed growing up. Jake's Mom, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, is no slouch either. In spite of encountering a minor setback in college, Lisa achieved her goal of becoming the Dean of Medicine at the young age of 32. The "minor setback," as referred to by Nana, was Lisa's unplanned pregnancy during her junior year in pre-med.

_**Flashback begins  
**__Lisa met the legendary Gregory House when she was a freshman in pre-med. Greg was a tall, sarcastic but brilliant med-student who admired Lisa's intelligence and her zesty body. The two began "hanging-out" together during Lisa's freshman year. By her junior year, Greg had practically moved into Lisa's tiny dorm room. Lisa's roommates often wondered what Lisa found attractive with a sarcastic jerk. Judging from the noise emanating from Lisa's room every night, they seemed to do two things a lot-- argue and have make-up sex. _

_The day that Lisa discovered that she was pregnant was the same day that Greg received his offer to join SF General Hospital's residency program. They always knew that that "thing" between them would not last forever since both had their medical careers ahead of them. On the eve of Greg's departure, the two spent the whole night in each other's arms. She never told him about her pregnancy and he never asked her to come with him. They said their goodbyes and promised to keep in touch. _

_With help from large sweatshirts, Lisa completed her junior year without anyone knowing that she was pregnant. Lisa never even told her mom until she went home eight-months pregnant that summer. It takes a lot to rattle Emma Cuddy's cage and the revelation that her nineteen-year-old daughter was with a child just about did it. However, Emma decided that that was simply a "minor setback" in Lisa's life. They agreed that Lisa would continue her studies while Emma took care of the baby. Jacob Gregory Cuddy was born on June 11, 1988. He was named after the two most important men in Lisa's life—Jacob Cuddy, her late father and Gregory House, the love of her life. Three months after giving birth, Lisa went back to Michigan to complete her senior year of pre-med. Lisa had always been a determined woman, but the birth of her son seemed to intensify her drive. She graduated top of her class and was accepted to the best medical schools in the country. She selected Harvard Medical School, so she could be in Boston with her Mom and her son. While other mothers were reading their toddlers nursery rhymes, Lisa was reading medical books to her son. Jake got his intelligence from his parents and in no time was skipping grades. He was enrolled at the local school's Gifted and Talented Program and by the age of ten, was taking high school level classes. _

_Ten years after the birth of their son, Lisa bumped into Greg at a medical convention in Baltimore. The two decided to meet later that evening at a local bar to catch-up with each other. She found out that he'd been bouncing around from hospital to hospital, while he learned that she had settled down as a young endocrinologist at Princeton. In no time, Lisa and Greg were swapping stories and sharing laughs just like old times. Maybe it was the alcohol or it could've been the loneliness that caused Lisa to later invite Greg back to her hotel room. The two immediately picked-up from where they left off ten years ago. Lisa and Greg made love the rest of the night. Morning came too quickly and soon both had to say goodbye. And like ten years ago, they promised to keep in touch. _

_Lisa toyed with the idea of telling Greg about Jake, but she just never had the nerve to follow through. Later that year, when she was appointed the youngest Dean of Medicine at PPTH, she decided to hire one of best minds she knew—Dr. Gregory House. Greg was unhappy at his current job and was probably days from being fired yet again so he accepted Lisa's offer. Lisa secretly hoped that maybe Greg's proximity would make it easier to finally reveal the secret that she had kept from him for ten years._

_An enthusiastic Greg entered Lisa's office accompanied by a charming young brunette. He introduced her as Stacy Hudson, his girlfriend. Lisa's heart just about sunk as she realized that her hope of a happy reunion evaporated. From that moment on, she vowed to keep an emotional distance between her and Greg. As a result, she began calling him House._

_With the same determination that propelled her to the top of her field, Lisa set her sight on three goals: providing her son the very best of everything, ensuring that PPTH was a premier hospital, and keeping her emotions in check when around House. _

_On Jake's thirteenth birthday, he received his high school diploma, scored a perfect 1600 on his SAT, and declared his intention of following his Mom's footsteps and become a doctor. Lisa couldn't be more proud of her son and declared that he could have whatever he wanted for his Bar Mitzvah. Lisa braced herself for the possibility that Jake might finally ask to meet his father, but instead Jake asked if he could move to Europe with his Nana. As Jake enthusiastically listed the numerous opportunities available for him in Europe, Lisa felt her heart tighten. She wanted to say no, but knowing that Jake's thirst for knowledge was better quenched in the great cities of Europe than in the suburbs of New Jersey, she reluctantly said yes. In the next few months, Lisa poured all her time and effort into her other baby (the Hospital). _

_**End of Flashback**__  
__**TBC**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

_**Fall 2001**_

Nana has a reputation as a charmer who can sell ice to Eskimos. She's often dispatched to various countries to negotiate truces or simply attend diplomatic functions. As Nana's legal ward, Jake tagged along on all these trips. Jake spent his first year away from Princeton pursuing his college education through the Foreign Service Institute's Distance learning program—attending lectures through video conferences, submitting home works and research papers through e-mails etc. Every six weeks, Jake did his "Cambridge week"—where he traveled to Cambridge University to take all his exams and meet with his academic advisors. Jake always had the proclivity for solving puzzles and had taken-up computer hacking as a hobby. He prided himself as a "white hat" hacker, who in one of his computer class wrote a dissertation on the methodology of properly penetrating complex computer systems. Jake tested his hypothesis by penetrating the State Department's firewall and altering all State Department emblems on all classified materials to a Superman logo. Nana was not amused by Jake's prank, which caused quite a steer among her colleagues in the London embassy. Lucky for Jake, the State Department's newly appointed CIO thought the incident was a wake-up call for the State Department to upgrade their IT infrastructure. The new CIO was so impressed with Jake's talent that he secretly tapped him on several occasions as a "sneaker"- hacking several US embassies around the world. Jake's professors at Cambridge also took notice of his talent and in no time arranged for him to work directly with a mentor from The Computer Laboratory (Cambridge's computer science department).

It's been months since Jake and Emma had been back stateside, Lisa made sure she took off from work to spend Thanksgiving weekend with her family. As luck would have it, Emma called at the last minute explaining to her daughter that she wouldn't be able to join them for Thanksgiving. Lisa was disappointed to hear the news, but took comfort that the she'd be able to spend quality time with her son. She had missed him very much and wanted to make sure that she prepared all of his favorite food. As Lisa methodically peeled potatoes over by the sink, Jake quietly snuck behind her to greet her good morning. She thought she was about to have a heart attack and was ready to yell at her son, when he leaned over his six-foot frame and kissed his Mom's forehead. Lisa couldn't help but smile as she noticed that her son was not only a spitting image of his father, but he also got his father's habit of sneaking up on her. Jake sheepishly grinned and rolled his eyes as he saw the variety of food around the kitchen counter. "Are we inviting the entire neighborhood for dinner?" Jake sarcastically asked his Mom. Lisa shook her head and said, "No, It's just you and me kiddo." "Your Nana told me that you've been missing some of my home cooking so, I figured I'd prepare all your favorite meals." Jake smiled and declared that Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday since she always made it a point to stay home and celebrate it with the family. He continued on saying that he could only recall her missing Thanksgiving dinner one time.

_**Flashback begins  
**__The timer had just rang signaling that the Turkey was ready when Lisa received a frantic phone call from Stacy. Lisa hated the idea of interrupting her Thanksgiving with her Mom and her son, but knew that she'd never be able to forgive herself if something bad should happen to Greg. After briefly explaining the situation to her Mom, Lisa quickly took a shower and headed back to the hospital. _

_Lisa dropped her purse in her office, and went directly to Greg's room to read up on his chart. Upon realizing that one of his doctors had earlier misdiagnosed Greg's infraction, she had no choice but to take a hands-on approach to saving his life. Before going to surgery, Greg had made his wishes known to Stacy. While Stacy struggled with the prospect of losing Greg, Lisa was battling with her conscience as well— she'd never be able to look her son in the eye if anything bad happened to Greg. _

_Meanwhile, Jake convinced his Nana that if Mom couldn't be home for Thanksgiving, they should bring dinner to his Mom in the Hospital. They packed-up their food and surprised Lisa with a Thanksgiving dinner in her office. Lisa was thankful for the wonderful dinner and her son's witty anecdotes were enough of a distraction to clear her mind. After Lisa kissed her Mom and son goodbye, she looked for Stacy by the lounge area. Lisa recommended to Stacy that instead of amputating Greg's leg or leaving him to die; they could take the dead muscle off his thigh. Although, he'd never be able to regain new muscles, with physical therapy he'd be able to strengthen his remaining muscle. That decision changed all their lives and affected the course of their relationship.  
__**Flashback ends**_

"Mom… Mom…" as Jake waved his hand in front of Lisa's face.  
"Huh? I'm sorry. What were you saying?" Lisa stammered,  
"I said, I spoke to Paul earlier and his parents are out town. I hope you don't mind that I invited him and his girlfriend to join us for Thanksgiving dinner?"  
Lisa smiled and gave her son a nod.  
Paul is the only friend her son had who is his own age. They've known each other since they were seven years old. Jake had absolutely nothing in common with Paul, but the two stayed in touch throughout the years—it's almost like each living vicariously through the other's life. Jake enjoyed hearing about Paul's typical teenage follies, while Paul was awed by Jake's accomplishments.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

_**Spring 2002**_

It was during one of Jake's trips back to Cambridge when one of his advisors introduced him to a French geneticist named Dr. Coulier. While Jake enjoys hacking computer systems, medicine is his first love. In fact, he is on track to graduate with a degree in both computer engineering and biochemistry in two years. He believes that the mystery of human physiology is locked in the human genome so when given the opportunity to meet Cambridge's renowned geneticist, he was simply awed. Dr. Coulier has read one of Jake's term paper on using mathematics and computers in solving medical problems. The eccentric Frenchman agreed with Jake's hypothesis and was eager to meet the young computer protégé. Coulier was surprised to learn that Jake isn't only a pre-med student, but also fluent in French. They conversed with each other in French and discussed Coulier's research project on human genome. Later that night, Jake called his Mom and excitedly recounted his lunch with the world-renowned geneticist. He beamingly told his Mom that he's been invited to join Coulier's team on an internet processing projects. Although, Jake will be doing more of the mathematical and computer side of the project, he thought it would be a great experience to be a part of a medical research team. Lisa was both excited and apprehensive about Jake's news. She always knew that her son was special but that doesn't stop her from worrying that Jake will have to stay on campus by himself. Jake assured his Mom and he'd be alright—reminded her that he'd be fifteen in a few months.

***

It was a chilly early morning and the sun has yet to rise; Charlie Mitchell, a member of Cambridge varsity rowing crew has carefully brought his boat by the river. He's been practicing by himself for a week now since his partner Spence has torn his rotator cuff. Spence will be undergoing surgery in a few days and is definitely out for the season. The Oxford-Cambridge boat race is still a few months away and Charlie mulls over his fate. He is anxious of the possibility of getting a new partner or simply being assigned to another crew. He's so deep in thought that he didn't realize that his oars had hit another boat.

"Hey, watch where you going!" shouted the blue-eyed young man.  
Charlie immediately snaps out of his deep thoughts and mumbles his apologies.  
"I am so sorry chum. Are you okay?" as Charlie extends his hand.  
"I'm fine, but I think you may have put a ding over this loaner boat."  
"As long as I haven't punctured her, I think I can easily repair that. Did you say she's a loaner? If it's from Rory, I'd bet you a pint of Guinness that it has more dings than you and I can care to count"  
"Yeah, I got her from McMichael's, he's the only shop that opens this early"  
"That old buggard has to open while its dark or else his customers will see how awful his boats are. Anyway, my name is Charlie Mitchell."  
"Mine's Cuddy, you can call me Jake."  
"Pleasure meeting you Jake. Is that an American accent that I detect?"  
"Yeah, just a good ol' American boy."  
"I haven't seen you around, are you new on campus?"  
"Yeah, just moved in a few weeks ago."  
"Have you been rowing awhile?"  
"Only a few years."  
"Which club do you row for?"  
Jake shrugs, shakes his head, and replies, "I just like rowing. It helps clears my mind."  
Charlie couldn't believe what he just heard. He immediately extends Jake an invitation to be his practice partner. With a nod and a shrug, Jake and Charlie's rowing partnership began.

Jake has never played team sports in his young life. For one, he was never in one school long enough nor did he ever had the opportunity to interact with peers his own age—the price of being a genius. Shortly after Jake agreed to be Charlie's practice partner, he learned that Charlie was a member of the varsity team. Charlie immediately saw Jake's potential and dared him to try out for the varsity crew. Never the one to turn away from a challenge, Jake tried out and easily won a spot in Cambridge's prestigious rowing team.

It was months after Jake joined the varsity crew that Charlie (and the rest of the team) realized that Jake was only fifteen years old. Alarmed by Jake's relatively young age, the coach designated him second alternate in the coxed eight crew. Jake was initially disappointed at not being able to compete but he kept himself preoccupied by another big event on campus_—The Infectious Diseases Conference_. Jake had heard that one of his Mom's colleagues would be one of the keynote speakers at the conference. When Jake mentioned to his Mom that he's looking forward to hearing Dr. House's speech, Cuddy immediately re-arranged her plans to ensure that she accompanied House for the entire duration of his trip. Instead of arriving early in the week as she initially planned, Cuddy arrived mid-week with House. Ever since they arrived in town, House observed that Cuddy was constantly on the phone with someone. When he noticed the look of disappointment in Cuddy's face after one of her mysterious phone calls, House tried to cheer Cuddy up by inviting her for a walk around the university campus. "So, your date backed out on you, Cuddles?" It was more of a remark rather than a question from House. Cuddy simply nodded as she recalled her son informing her that a couple of his crewmates came down with the flu hence, the team was calling-in all alternates to be ready for competition.

When Charlie's second partner collapsed from exhaustion a day before competition, the coach finally agreed to let Jake take over as Charlie's third partner. Both Jake and Charlie shattered the speed record for the coxless pair and won the competition. By the end of the week, an excited Jake thought it would be great to surprise his Mom with a visit. On the other hand, House also had a brilliant plan of inviting himself to Cuddy's room after the conference. When House realized that Cuddy was taking a bath, he decided to make himself comfortable by sprawling on her bed. As Jake was about to knock on her Mom's door, he heard his Mom screaming. Jake kicked the door open and found House's hand wrapped around Cuddy's mouth. Jake yelled at House to let her go. As House let go of Cuddy to explain the situation, Jake quickly punched House in the face. Seeing blood gushing all over House's face, Cuddy screamed at her son to stop hurting his father. Both House and Jake immediately looked at her with the same shocked expression on their faces.  
Jake stammered asking, "he's my what?"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

"I…we have a son?" House confusedly asked Cuddy.  
"Mom, why was he trying to hurt you?"  
"I wasn't trying to hurt her, you idiot. I was trying to stop her from screaming."  
As both men impatiently waited for Cuddy to answer their questions, she franticly looked for a first aid kit to treat House's bloody face.  
Lisa bit her lip and mumbled "well, this isn't exactly how I imagined introducing you to each other."  
"Oh really? How many more years will it take for you to plan that perfect introduction?" House sarcastically countered.  
Noticing how uncomfortable his Mom has become, Jake simply introduced himself to House.  
"Hi, my name is Jacob Gregory Cuddy. Jake for short"  
House nodded and replied "Greg House. I guess you not only got my good looks but my name too, huh?"  
Jake blushed and his eyes widen upon the realization that he's related to THE DOCTOR GREGORY HOUSE.  
Cuddy silently wiped the blood off House's face and applied the anti-septic on his bloodied lip.  
House squirmed and yelled "ouch!"  
Lisa glared at him and said "shut up so I can clean your wound properly"  
Jake stammered his apologies again and said "I'm so sorry Dr. House; I hope I didn't break your jaw or anything"  
"Stop apologizing. I'll be fine."  
House quickly glanced over at Cuddy and said, "your Mom on the other hand is a different story."  
An awkward silence suddenly filled the room.  
"Mom, I think I should leave. You two have a few things to discuss."  
Cuddy walked over to Jake and told him that to come back tomorrow for lunch.  
Jake nodded and kissed his Mom goodbye. He waved goodbye to House, and got a grunt in return.

After Jake left, both Cuddy and House just stared silently with a "what now?" look on their faces.  
Cuddy breaks the silence by saying "I know I should have told you about Jake, and I'm sorry…"  
House heads over to Cuddy's bed and laid down.  
Cuddy glares at him and asked, "what are you doing?"  
"In case you forgot, I just literally and figuratively got hit in the face. I need to lie down before I pass out from this pounding headache"  
"Are you alright?"  
"I'll be fine, continue on with your heartfelt apologies" House sarcastically replied.  
Cuddy simply nodded.  
House asked, "when did you find out that you were pregnant with Jake?"  
Cuddy recounted the story about learning about her pregnancy the day House got his acceptance letter. She told him the story about hiding her pregnancy while in Michigan, leaving Jake with her Mom three months after he was born, and juggling parenthood with her career.  
House laid silently listening to Cuddy's every word. He would from time to time ask questions, but pretty much left her to recount the events of the last fifteen years.

***HUDDY***

The morning light crept into the room and its harshness woke Cuddy. She peeked at the alarm clock, but instead was distracted by the warm body beneath her. She noticed that she was resting her head on top of House's chest and felt their naked bodies underneath the sheets. Her first instinct was to bolt out of bed and scream, but quickly realized that's how it all started. The events of last night slowly began to come back to her and she remembered nursing House's bloodied face and having a serious discussion with him about their son. For the first time in a long time, she felt very relieve that she didn't need to keep a secret from him anymore. She secretly hoped that House would play a part in Jake's life, but knew that she was probably asking for a miracle.  
"Hey" House greeted her groggily.  
"Hey to you too" Cuddy looked up and smiled at him.  
He lifted her face to give her a good morning kiss. And like last night, their lips just stayed a little longer than planned.  
After a few minutes of exchanging passionate kisses, Cuddy pulled away and asked, "what time is it?"  
House replied "we got plenty of time. Wanna pick up where we left off last night?"  
Cuddy gave House another kiss, but untangled herself from his arms.  
House frowned and inquired, "where are you going? The conference isn't starting until two this afternoon."  
"I'm taking a shower; I promised Jake that I'd have lunch with him. You are welcome to join us."  
House smugly grinned and asked "shower or lunch?"  
She gave him a sultry look and replied "both."  
In no time, House dry swallowed a couple of Vicodin and joined Cuddy in the shower.

***

At around noon, Jake knocked on his Mom's room. He was surprised to see House opening the door.  
"Oh…good afternoon, Dr. House."  
House nodded and informed him "your Mom is not yet ready. We'll go ahead and she'll meet us downstairs."  
Jake said okay and waited for House to lock the door.  
"By the way, stop calling me Dr. House. You can call me Greg or if you prefer…Dad"  
"Okay…I think I'll call you DAD" emphasizing the word "Dad."  
House found himself smiling at the realization that he was somebody's Dad.

Jake noticed the grin on his father's face and inquired, "how did last night go?"  
House raised his eyebrows and replied "Good."  
"Are you and Mom going to be okay?"  
"Your Mom and I have a very complicated relationship. We've been through a lot and somehow we made it through okay. How about if we concentrate on you and me, kiddo? Is there anything you want to ask me?"  
Jake nodded and asked, "do you like kids? How do you feel about me? I mean… finding out that you have a son?"  
"Whatever happened to questions like, what's it like being a world renowned doctor?" House sighed as he sarcastically retorted to Jake's questions.  
"I think you had me confused with your star-struck med students" Jake quickly replied with a grin.  
House smiled and said "Very nice."  
House quickly turned to a more serious expression as he addressed Jake's questions.  
"Kid, I'm not really into these sharing my feelings crap so don't get used to me answering these types of questions. I don't like kids, heck I don't like people in general. I was initially shocked then, I was angry at your Mom for keeping you a secret from me. But considering what a mess my life was and still is; I think she made the right decision. You turned out okay; your Mom did a great job with you."  
Jake couldn't believe his ears. House's reputation as a misanthropic SOB preceded him; hence, Jake was prepared for a few insults thrown his way. "Wow" was all he could say to House's response to his questions.  
House nodded and asked Jake "what do you think of your old man? Were you disappointed that your father is a crippled misanthropic jerk?"  
"I think it's cool that my Dad is a world-renowned doctor. I never had a Dad before, so I'm just really glad to have one now" Jake stated it in a matter of fact tone that reminded House of Cuddy's diplomatic skill.  
Before Jake could ask another question, Cuddy joined them on the table.  
"Did you guys order yet?" Cuddy inquired and both men shook their heads.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

**Spring 2003**

It was the eve of Jake's boat race, when Cuddy and House decided to join their son for an early supper. Cuddy has always been very supportive of her son's dreams, so Jake wasn't shocked when his Nana informed him that his Mom was flying-in to watch the race. However, Jake was surprised to learn that his renowned prickly father will be accompanying his Mom.

_House was playing his PSP on his desk, when Cuddy walked in to his office. He knew that she was standing nearby, but refused to stop his game to acknowledge her presence.  
"Greg" Cuddy calls out.  
Cuddy only addressed him as Greg if the conversation is about personal matters.  
House placed his PSP on pause looked up at her and exaggeratedly replied "Lisa…"  
"I'm flying to London in two weeks to attend our son's boat race. I was wondering if you would like to come." she announced.  
House nodded for her to continue.  
"They won the coxless pair last year and I missed it" Cuddy's voice was full of regret.  
But her voice began to perk a bit when she mentions "Jake was an alternate last year but this year he'll be starting".  
It has been a year since House initially met his son and he was still in the process of learning more about Jake.  
He inquired how a kid from Jersey got interested in rowing. Lisa was quick to take credit and cited their family tradition of attending the Harvard-Yale Regatta back when she was still in medical school. She took Jake to his first Regatta when he was still a toddler. She recounted how Jake was initially fascinated by both the speed and the direction on which the oarsmen were facing while rowing. She laughed at the memory that she almost shattered her son's dream when she refused to enroll him to a rowing camp one summer.  
"Why didn't you want him enrolled?" House arched his eyebrow curiously.  
"It was an adult rowing camp and he was just ten years old" Lisa responded defensively.  
She sighed and added "I signed the age waiver form after our genius son staged a hunger strike".  
"How long did he last?" House asks.  
"He missed supper and I left the signed form on top of his breakfast the following day," Cuddy confessed.  
House grinned at Cuddy before telling her "You were always a wuss".  
Cuddy smiled, quickly glancing over to make sure that no one was around and gave House a passionate kiss "What can I say; I have a soft spot for the House men" _

Lisa had warned Jake not to get his hopes up concerning his father, so she was astounded when House took interest on their son. While House is still the same sarcastic jerk to everyone, he has showed a more thoughtful side to his son. Lisa was surprised to know that House secretly took on the habit of calling their son every week or e-mailing him interesting articles on computers or medical research. Both father and son bonded splendidly because they shared the same wit, humor, and intelligence. It also didn't hurt that they both love sports, music, and a common hatred of the New York Yankees!

Jake and his parents spent much of supper freely conversing on topics ranging from the completion of his term with Dr. Coulier to his future plans. Cuddy inquired whether he had made a decision on which medical school he will be attending in the fall. Jake was accepted to both Harvard and Johns Hopkins, but had yet to reveal his pick and instead asked his parents what they thought he should pick. Cuddy rooted for her son to attend her Alma matter, but she also revealed that either school would be fine since they're both the best medical schools in the country. She smiled and added that both schools are much closer to home than the UK. Jake nodded and smiled back at his Mom.  
Jake looked over to his father and asked "Dad?" "Didn't you go to Hopkins?" "Any advice?"  
House nodded and replied "Yes, but I had to transfer to Michigan."  
"That's where I met your Mom" "If my math is correct, that's where you were conceived too" a smug smirk grazed House's face. Lisa rolled her eyes and Jake laughed.  
House became silent and gave his son a penetrating look as he tried to deduce why Jake hasn't made a decision on which medical school to attend.  
Jake furrowed his eyebrow and looked at his Mom for clue.  
He got a reassuring smile from Lisa as she had seen that look on Greg's face when he's solving his puzzles. House immediately came out of his trance and smiled. He concluded that his son's hesitance in revealing his selection only meant that Jake feared his decision might disappoint his father. To alleviate his son's fear, House declared that he agreed with Cuddy that there was no bad choice between the two schools. He added that Harvard might tip the scale given its proximity to the Charles River and MIT. Both House and Cuddy noticed a sigh of relief that escaped their son. Cuddy gave House a curious look that translates to "how did you know?" House shrugged and said, "I figured Medical school will probably not stop you from rowing or being involved in computer research". Jake nodded and informed his parents that he also received a full scholarship from MIT to complete his PhD in computer engineering. Cuddy was surprised at the news and asked her son "You are still going to Medical school, right?"  
Jake nodded and replied "Of course. I'll work on my PhD on the side."  
House beamed at his son and said, "At this rate, you'll have both your MD & PhD before you'll be legally allowed to drink alcohol."  
The rest of the dinner was a calming distraction for Jake as he enjoyed the company of two of the smartest people he knows- and they just happen to be his parents. Shortly after eight, Jake kissed his parents goodbye and jokingly ask them not to do anything embarrassing during the boat race_. _


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

_**Spring 2004**_

The pub was bustling with activities from university students celebrating the end of term. The owner looked over a group of boisterous young men in the middle of the pub and shook his head. He saw the same behavior every year, only their faces and their names were different. This particular night, it was the Cambridge rowing crew celebrating the graduation of two of its members. Charlie Mitchell, the captain of the crew was a gregarious Englishman who has spent the last four years making friends with anyone who gazed his way. The other graduating crewmember was a tall, quiet American named Jake Cuddy. He wasn't exactly old enough to drink in a pub but his fellow oarsman thought he deserved a good sendoff. In the two years that Jake rowed for Cambridge, his achievements were stuff of legends. He was the youngest and one of handful American members of Cambridge's long history. He and Charlie won the coxless pair competition two years in a row.

It was about half past ten when Jake politely excused himself from his friends.  
"Come on Cuddy, enjoy yourself" as one of his teammates shoved a glass of beer in front of him.  
Jake replied, "I really love to stay, but tomorrow is my graduation."  
He added, "I don't think my whole family would appreciate if they crossed the Atlantic just to see me make an arse of myself."  
Charlie realizing that his partner was in trouble, created a bit of distraction by telling another story.  
Jake gave Charlie a nod as he quietly slipped out of the pub's side exit.

The following morning Jake was awakened by the sound of tapping on his door. He blearily opened the door to see his Dad with a big smirk on his face.  
"Good morning kiddo!" House greeted his son and shoved a bag in front of his chest.  
"Your Mom wants you to wear these shoes for your graduation; I personally think the Nike Shox will be more bitchin'."  
Jake nodded his bed head and grinned at his Dad.  
House gently shoved his son towards the bathroom and ordered him "Go take a shower; we're meeting the Cuddy womenfolk down in my building."  
Jake raised his eyebrows and asked "your building?"  
"Yeah, isn't the ceremony in the House building?"  
Jake rolled his eyes; the graduation ceremony was being held in the Senate-House building but there was no use arguing about this detail with his Dad.

***

After the ceremony, the whole family had lunch at a nearby restaurant. The proprietor was a friend of Emma, so they were given a private room to celebrate.  
Emma, Lisa, and Greg were all beaming with pride as they gathered around a manila envelope filled with certificates and medals that the chancellor handed Jake after the ceremony.  
Emma gave Jake a big hug and told him how proud she was of him.  
Lisa gave him a big kiss and told him how much she loved him.  
House gave Jake a pat on the back and quietly whispered that he can arrange a hooker for him as a graduation gift. The shocked look on Jake's face was enough for both Emma and Lisa to simultaneously hit House on both arms.  
"Ouch! You didn't even hear what I said."  
Lisa scowled at House "We don't need to hear what you actually said to know that it was bad."  
Before House could respond, an English gentleman entered the room.  
Emma greeted the man with a kiss; Lisa and Jake also gave the man a warm welcome.  
After a moment of hesitation, Emma introduced Henry to Greg.  
Henry is Emma's new husband. They have been a couple for years, but never formalized their relationship until a few weeks ago. With Jake graduating from college, Emma thought it was the right time to retire and settle down.  
Lisa couldn't be happier for her mom. She felt that her mom has put her life on hold for her and Jake long enough. Lisa looked at the newlywed longingly, wishing she and Greg will someday share the same thing. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Jake, who raised his glass to toast the newlyweds.

The rest of lunch went on smoothly as House entertained the group with his unique perspective on English cuisine. _Insert your own British cuisine joke here ;-) _

Henry and Emma left shortly after dessert, while the rest stayed for coffee. Afterwards, Jake walked his parents back to their hotel. He thanked them for attending his graduation and promised to fly home next week for the holidays.

On the way up to their room, Cuddy couldn't help the tears from falling as she realized that her baby is all grown-up. "Our boy is all grown up and is going to Medical school." Greg gave her a hug and tenderly kissed her forehead. He lifted her chin and wiped away the tears from her face. Greg wagged his eyebrows and asked, "You know what we can do?" Lisa looked at him and replied "What?" Greg broke into a smile and in his low sexy voice, "We can create another masterpiece. It'll be just like the other spawn." Lisa gave Greg a kiss and told him to shut-up.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

Cuddy was unpacking her suitcases when the phone rang. A quick look at the caller id, told her that it was an overseas call. It's probably Mom checking up on me.  
"Lisa?"  
"Hi Mom"  
"Just wanted to make sure that you arrived safely. Did you have a good flight?"  
"I'm fine, Mom. The flight was uneventful. We got in late last night"  
"We? Is Greg with you?"  
"No, Mom. He went back to his place"  
"Lisa, what's going on between you two?"  
"Nothing. We're friends. We just decided to attend our son's graduation. That's it."  
"Of course, and you regularly share your bed with all your male friends when you travel."  
"Mom?"  
"I know you're a grown woman and you run one of the top hospitals in the country. It however, doesn't stop me from worrying."  
"I'm fine, Mom. Greg and I just have a very complicated relationship."  
"I just don't want you getting hurt again."  
"Everything is going to be okay, Mom."  
"Lis, do you ever wonder why it took me almost twenty years to re-marry?"  
"You wanted to make sure that Jake and I were okay. Mom, I greatly appreciate all you've done for us."  
"Please... I knew you and Jake would be okay the day you graduated pre-med. I've never seen anyone work harder than you. You achieved every goal you set out to do in spite of a "minor setback" and that was all you, Lisa." "I waited twenty years to re-marry because your father taught me that I deserved the best. He loved me as much, if not more than I ever loved him. Once you've experienced true love, you'll never settle for anything less."

***

Days after Lisa's conversation with her Mom, she quietly entered House's office and told him that they needed to talk. House noticed the seriousness in Cuddy's tone, so he informed her that he'd drop by her place around seven. At ten past seven, Cuddy heard House knocking at the door and she yelled for him to use his key.

He walked over to the kitchen and noticed the stacks of cookies by the counter.  
As Greg reached for one of the cookies, he asked Lisa "Are all of these for me?"  
"No, Jake is coming home tomorrow so I figured I'll finish baking tonight."  
Greg nodded and asked what's for dinner.  
Lisa replied that she made him sirloin steak and baked salmon for her.  
He eyed her curiously and asked "You're either pregnant or you're firing me."  
She quickly replied, "I'm not firing you. Actually, I'm promoting you."  
Greg sheepishly grinned and remarked, "I was that good in London, huh?"  
Lisa rolled her eyes and replied, "Okay stud, make yourself useful and carry our plates to the dining room."  
As they were eating their dinner, Lisa informed Greg that she just got an approval from the Board to create a new Diagnostic Department and she planned to appoint him as department head.  
Lisa told Greg that he'll have cases that none of the other doctors can solve. But warned him since it's a teaching position, he'd have to hire three fellows, give lectures, and write articles.  
House looked wearily at Cuddy and asked, "what's the catch?"  
Cuddy hesitantly told him that they couldn't continue their "thing" anymore now that there's more at stake.  
Ever since that night two years ago, Lisa and Greg have been discreetly seeing each other on and off. Since Greg was still reeling from his failed relationship with Stacy, his "friends with benefits" status with Lisa suited him fine.  
However, Lisa's conversation with her mom the other night made her realize two things: she's falling in love with Greg again, and she's settling for less because Greg will never love her the way she loves him.  
Lisa decided that it was best to end their relationship while she still can.  
"Are you breaking up with me again, so we can have make up sex later?"  
"Greg, I'm serious. No more sleepovers. This "thing" between us is getting out of hand."  
"Is that the only reason, Lisa?"  
Lisa sighed and replied "What do you mean?"  
"You never responded to my earlier question."  
"What question?"  
"Are you pregnant?"  
"No."  
"Are you sure?"  
"I'm a little late, but my hormones are a bit out of whack after I got back on the pill."  
"What happens if I accept this promotion and you are pregnant?"  
"I…I don't know. Why does it matter? You've always wanted to head your own diagnostic department."  
"True. But until two years ago, I also never wanted to have kids of my own.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

"So, what's your plan? I accept this promotion and pretend that this thing between us never happened?"  
"No, I want you to accept this promotion because you are the perfect doctor for the job. A diagnostic department will not only save more lives, but it'll be good for the hospital's reputation."  
"I'll accept the offer on three conditions."  
"Okay, name your terms."  
"One, I get to choose the cases I want to work on. Two, I want an office with a private balcony. Three, I want you to pee on an ept stick after dinner. By the way, if the stick says plus (+) all bets are off! "  
"What's with the sudden fascination with my uterus?"  
"I just want to make sure you don't run off with one of my spawns again."  
"In case I didn't make it clear, the new diagnostic department is in Princeton not in Siberia."  
"For all I know, this is just one of your schemes to get me to commit to Princeton while you runoff somewhere."  
"Greg, I just signed a five-year extension so I'm not going anywhere for awhile."  
"Do we have a deal?"  
"Yes, you can have all of that but you will still need to do your weekly clinic duties."  
Cuddy was about to sip on her glass red wine, when House grabbed her forearm. "No wine for you until we're sure that you're not pregnant".  
Lisa shot him a glare and replied "Fine, then get me a glass of milk".  
House took Cuddy's wine, drank it straight up, and limped to the kitchen.

***

Jake poked his head in his Dad's office and greeted him "Hey!"  
"Hey, did you just get in?"  
"Yeah, what's with all the boxes? Are you moving?"  
"Yes, two floors up in an office with a private balcony. I'm heading the new Diagnostic Department."  
"That's very cool. Congratulations Dad!"  
"You want to know what the Boss wants in exchange for this new job?"  
"Hmmm…I'm not really sure if I want to know."  
"She wants me to be at her beck and call 24-7 to serve her 'administrative needs'."  
"I know, that whole patient getting sick outside of business hours is just way too inconsiderate."  
"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side. I'm the cool parent who'll be taking you apartment hunting."  
"You got Mom to agree with my plans? Is she's asking Dr. Martin to allow me to live off-campus?"  
"I'm your father, I don't need your Mom's approval to call Harvard's Dean of Medicine."  
"Dr. Martin is Mom's friend. I'm sure they'll talk to each other and exchange notes."  
"Stop worrying." House threw an empty box at Jake and told him to "Do something useful and help me pack-up these books."  
The duo completed packing all of House's stuff in record time. Afterward, House called the Maintenance Department to send someone to move the boxes to his new office.  
Both father and son decided to go up and checkout House's new office.  
"Sweet. This is definitely a rockin' office but what's with all the glass walls?"  
"It's your Mom's sick way of 'keeping an eye on me'."  
"I hope you'll put some blinds in here or something for privacy."  
Jake walked over to the far end of the office and pushed the glass door. It was a good size balcony made out of bricks and it overlooked the promenade between the hospital and the main campus.  
"You got a nice view of the campus from here."  
House limped next to his son, and said "Not bad at all."  
Jake grinned and added, "I think you'll have an excellent view of the office next door too."  
House followed the direction of his son's gaze and saw a couple making out inside the office next door.  
Both father and son looked at each other and grinned.

As Cuddy was walking towards House's new office, she saw someone throw something over somewhere. She entered the office to take a closer look. She was shocked to see both Greg and Jake throwing latex gloves filled with water over the balcony. They had propped open the glass door to the balcony and were sitting behind the desk facing the balcony so no one could see who and where the flying gloves were coming from.  
"Have you two completely lost your minds?" Cuddy yelled at the duo.  
"Whoops!" was all both father and son could say.  
Cuddy gave her son an incredulous look. With his puppy dog eyes, Jake apologized to his Mom. She was trying very hard to quash her smile, so she ordered him to go down and clean-up the mess they've made by the Clinic entrance. After Jake left the room, she proceeded to place a stack of folders on House's desk and told him to start reviewing resumes for his fellowship positions.  
House simply nodded and asked Cuddy "Do you have the results?"  
Cuddy nodded and handed it to him.  
He read it quietly, gave the results back to Cuddy, and smiled.  
"Now that we got the confirmation, when do we to tell spawn number one that he's going to be a big brother soon?"


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

It was about five o'clock and House was getting ready to call it a day when Cuddy rang to ask if he could drive her home.  
"Are you okay? Five is a little too early for you."  
"I'm feeling a little tired, but I'm fine. I don't have my car, so I figured I'd catch you before you leave."  
"What happened to you car?"  
"Jake needed it for the night."  
"He just got back in town. Where does he need to go?"  
"He's having dinner with a friend."  
"Ok, are you ready now or do you want me to wait?"  
"I'll be ready in about 15 minutes."

Twenty minutes later, House barged into Cuddy's office and asked, "Do you want to go out and grab a bite?"  
Cuddy teasingly replied, "Oh Greg, are you asking me on a date?"  
"No, I don't do dates. However, I'll take my baby mama to a burger joint or something."  
Lisa knew that Greg was just being his annoying self when he referred to her as his baby mama, but she couldn't help but squirm at the word. Maybe that's all she is and will ever be to him. Out of nowhere, she just felt an overwhelming urge to cry. She tried to stop it but a floodgate of tears start pouring out of her eyes.  
House was both puzzled and alarmed by her reaction. He limped towards her, gave her hug, and whispered, "No burgers then, we'll have whatever you want to eat."  
She nodded and said "thank you." She felt embarrassed by her outburst and tried to pull herself together. God, she's only three weeks pregnant and it's already throwing her hormones out of the loop.  
Cuddy walked over to her desk to retrieve her purse, when she noticed that House hasn't moved an inch. He was still standing at the same spot where she left him a few minutes ago.  
"Greg, is everything okay?"  
"I made you cry. Even when I'm trying to make an effort, I still made you cry. "

**The Night Before **

"_What's taking so long? How hard is it to pee on a stick?" Greg shouted over the bathroom door.  
"If you don't shut up, I'll make you wait until tomorrow." Lisa shot back.  
Lisa had completed the test and was just waiting for the results. She would rather wait in the privacy of her bathroom than be harassed by Greg. He can be a child sometimes. Then it hit her like a ton of brick— a few hours ago, she was contemplating ending their relationship and now they might be having another baby. Oy vey!  
Greg nervously limped in the hallway as he waited for Lisa to open the bathroom door. If he's feeling anxious now, he could just imagine how he'd feel when Lisa actually gave birth to spawn number two.  
Finally, Lisa opened the door and Greg tried to decipher her reaction to get a hint of the results.  
She handed him the stick and walked over to the living room. She sat in the couch and waited for Greg's reaction.  
"Mazal Tov! Since you are carrying spawn number two, all bets are off!"  
Cuddy hadn't recovered from the shock of finding out that she's pregnant with Greg's child again when he asked "Do you want to reconsider your offer, Dr. Cuddy?"  
"Greg, you are the best damn doctor I have. The Diagnostic Department is yours, baby or no baby!"  
"Great!"  
House's euphoria about the promotion and the baby news turned into concern when he noticed Cuddy's face.  
"Are you okay with this?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"I know I'm not the best father material, but I think I can try."  
"Greg, you are very good to Jake. He adores you and this kid will probably worship you as well."  
"And you? Will you be okay with me as a partner? I know I'm not the easiest person to be with, but I'll do my best to make you happy."  
Lisa couldn't help but smile. That was definitely the closest thing that she had heard Greg express his feelings. She always knew that he cared for her, and she'd always hope that maybe someday he'd love her as much as Stacy but for now, she'd take this. She gave him a nod and kissed him on the cheek.  
Greg lifted her chin and kissed her passionately on the lips. _

***

Greg gazed into Lisa's eye and said "I hate seeing you cry and I hate myself more for putting those tears in your eyes."  
"It's not you, Greg. This pregnancy hormone is just making me cry for no reason."  
"I'm serious Lis, you can pick whatever restaurant you want."  
"I'll take a rain check. All I want right now is a long warm bath."  
House nodded and quietly drove Lisa home.  
He parked the car and asked Lisa "Do you mind if I stay for the night?"  
"Greg, you're always welcome to stay. Besides we need to break the news to Jake about the baby."

By the time Cuddy finished her bath, House was already chowing down on Chinese food.  
"Thanks for waiting." Lisa stated sarcastically.  
"I was hungry. I got you some extra eggrolls."  
The two ate their dinner in front of the TV. Like always, Greg commandeered the remote control and was none too pleased about the choices.  
"You know if you want me to stay here more often, you'll need to get cable."  
"So you can watch more of your soaps?"  
"What's wrong with _**Prescription Passion**_ and _**General Hospital**_?"  
"For one, the plotlines are ridiculous. And don't even get me started with the acting."

"Speaking of drama, have you picked a replacement for Banks in Oncology yet?"  
Dr. Banks was the former head of the Oncology Department. He was forced into early retirement after one of the Board member accidentally walked in on him doing the horizontal tango with a nurse.  
"Yes. Do you know Dr. Wilson from Princeton General? He just accepted my offer this morning."  
A hint of smile appeared on House's face as he realized that's the guy he bailed out last year.  
"Yup, JEW."  
Lisa gave Greg an incredulous look and said, "I'm a Jew and your son is half-Jewish."  
"I wasn't casting aspersions on him. His initials are JEW, short for James Evan Wilson.  
"Oh, how do you know him?"  
"Met him at a conference last year."  
"I've never seen you socialize with anyone at a conference."  
"It's a long story. Anyway, you should give him the office next to mine."  
"Why do you suddenly care where the head Oncologist's office should be?"  
"I don't care. I'm just getting tired of your staff using that office as their personal make out room."  
"Of course, I might change my mind if you'll reconsider your 'no sex in the hospital' rule," he said, wagging his eyebrows.

Lisa shook her head and started putting away the dishes. She made a mental note to call maintenance about adding a glass panel to that office before Dr. Wilson starts in three weeks. As she sat on the couch, Greg placed her feet on his lap and started massaging them.  
"Hmm…that feels so good. I could get used to this."

"Greg, aside from Mom and Jake, I don't think we should tell anyone about the baby until after my first trimester."  
"Okay, if that's what you want."  
"Do you plan to ever tell your parents about Jake and the baby?"  
"No."  
House immediately changed the topic and told Cuddy that he promised Jake that he could get an apartment off-campus.  
"You told him what?"  
"He'll be in medical school; it wouldn't be cool for him to live at the freshman's dorm."  
"First of all, he's only seventeen. Second, he will not be staying at the freshman dorm; he'll be staying at a dorm for med students. There are lots of out-of-state and international students that live on campus."  
"Lisa, he did okay on his own in Cambridge. In four years, people will be relying on him to make life and death decisions. You need to start trusting him."  
"I do trust him. I just want him to be safe."  
"Don't worry; I'll make sure he packs enough supply of condom with him."

Lisa rolled her eyes and was about to reply when she heard the front door opening.  
Jake walked in and asked his parents "Did you guys wait up for me?"  
"Yeah, your Mom wanted to make sure that her Lexus came back in one piece."  
Lisa hit Greg in the arm and said, "No, we just wanted to make sure you got home okay. How was your dinner, hon?"  
"It was good. Thanks for asking."

As Lisa was about to ask more questions, the phone rang.  
She walked over to the kitchen and answered the phone.  
"You're home before 10:30, which only mean two things: you didn't pass third base or she has curfew."  
Jake informed his Dad "I promised her father that I'd bring her home by ten. As for whatever base I reached, true gentlemen never kiss and tell."  
"Kiss is probably all you got. So, where did you meet this girl on such short notice?"  
"She's a candy striper at the hospital. She helped me pick up all the latex gloves that we threw from your balcony this afternoon."  
"And?"  
"We had dinner at Gratella and afterwards, we took a stroll by the river."  
Lisa walked back to the living room and heard Jake's description of his date.  
"Oh, I love Gratella. She's a very lucky girl. I was never lucky in dating when I was your age."  
"Oh for gods sake! He took Candy, the stripper to an Italian restaurant. You're acting like it's a big deal."  
"Greg!" Lisa yelled at House.  
"You want to hear a big deal? I knocked-up your Mom again! Yup, you're going to be a big brother to spawn number two."  
"Whoa!" was the first word that came out of Jake's mouth.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

"Seriously?  
Jake leaned over to his mom and asked, "Are you really pregnant?"  
"Yes, three weeks. Will you be okay with it, hon?" Lisa gently asked her son.  
"Yeah. Just a little shocked but I'm cool."  
Jake shook his head and added, "I didn't think that you two still did it."  
"We do it more often than you think and in places you've never even thought of." House replied wagging his eyebrows.  
"House!" Lisa yelled at Greg.  
"Dad, that's way too much information. That mental picture alone is going to cause me years of therapy."  
House smirked at his son's response.  
Cuddy caught herself yawning as she got up from the coach. "Boys, I'm heading off to bed."  
She gave Jake a peck on his forehead and kissed Greg on the lips.  
"Goodnight and don't stay up too late."

"So, this girl you went out with—she knows that you're leaving for med school in a few weeks?"  
"It might have come up. Why?"  
"You know, girls will be lining up to score themselves a doctor and you're definitely a big get. Just be smart about it, okay?"  
"Oh god, we're not having the birds and bees discussion, right?"  
"No, we're not. I can give you condoms to protect you from sex diseases and unplanned fatherhood, but there's nothing I can prescribe for a broken heart. Just choose well."  
"Dad, mind if I ask a personal question?"  
House nodded, signaling him to go on.  
"I know I wasn't exactly planned. But, were you and Mom dating or was it just a one-night stand?"  
"More like a series of one-night stands." House smirked, amused by his own response.  
"How will I know if I met THE ONE?"  
"You just do. Nothing will matter except her."  
"Did you feel that way about mom? Was she THE ONE?"  
"She is still THE ONE!"

"What's your plan for the summer?"  
"I was thinking about applying for a temp job at the university. I saw an ad by the staff lounge; the IT department is hiring. It'll be easy buck for easy work."  
"How about working for your old man?"  
"Seriously?"  
"Why not? I have a new department to build, people to hire, and paperwork to fill-up. Might learn a few doctoring stuff along the way."  
"That will be awesome!"  
"Good!"

***

The alarm went off at 6:30 AM and Cuddy quickly turned it off so as not to wake House. She looked over the right side of the bed to see a very naked House sprawled next to her. He appeared so relaxed with his cute bed head and his little snore. She felt the urge to jump him, but thought better of it. Instead, she kissed him on the forehead and quietly slipped out of bed. She went to the kitchen and turned-on the coffee pot, just as she has done so many times before. As she walked back to the bedroom, the smell of coffee made her stomach churn. All of a sudden she felt nauseous.  
"Fuck!" Was the only word she could utter as she headed straight to worship the porcelain gods.  
The smell of freshly brewed coffee and the sound of Lisa puking her guts out was enough to wake House up.  
He reached for his Vicodin, put on his boxers, and limped towards the bathroom.  
"Are you okay?"  
Lisa nodded and asked House "Can you turn-off the coffee pot please? The smell is making me nauseous."  
Greg groaned at the realization that he probably will not be able to have his morning coffee for the next few months or until her morning sickness stopped.  
By the time House got back, Cuddy was already in the shower. He put on the same clothes he wore from the previous night and made a mental note to pack more clothes for next time. House limped back to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.  
Cuddy opened the shower curtain and spotted House by the sink.  
"I'm sorry I woke you up this early."  
He shrugged his shoulder and replied, "I have to go home and change anyway. Feeling any better?"  
"Yes, much better. I wonder how long this morning sickness will last. I never had it when I was pregnant with Jake."  
"Speaking of spawn number one, I offered him a job. You know…help me out while I set up the department."  
Cuddy was a bit surprised by the news, but she knew that they worked well together. Jake can learn a lot from his Dad—both good and bad. She just hoped, Jake picks-up Greg's good traits and ignores the bad ones.  
"That's great! I'll have HR draw up the paperwork."

***

House strolled in the hospital lobby at half past eleven and was greeted by a scowl from Brenda, the head nurse.  
"You were scheduled to be on clinic duty at nine."  
"That's a bit idiotic considering I don't get here until ten."  
"It's almost noon, Dr. House."  
"Oh, its lunchtime. Thanks for the reminder."  
House walked past the exasperated Brenda and headed towards the elevator. He dropped his backpack on the floor and turned on his computer. He glanced over to his desk and noticed three piles that required his attention: 1) Resumes of perspective fellows. 2) Memos and correspondence letters. 3) Stacks of charts from his previous patients. He decided to ignore the pile and concentrate on reading his e-mails. There were ten e-mails from Cuddy sent to all department heads about various hospital policies, six request for consults, and fifty-two SPAM mails. He disregarded all except the SPAM mails that had the word sex on the subject line. He clicked on a link to a website with horny housewives ready to bear all. By the time Cuddy walked in to deliver him a patient's file, he immediately minimized the window. Unfortunately, the link spawned about five other windows to various sex sites. One of which had a woman making loud orgasm sounds.  
"House?"  
"Cuddy?"  
"Are you watching porn at work?"  
"I was bored; I clicked on an e-mail that may have accidentally gone to a porn site." He felt like a teenager who just got caught wanking by his mother. Oh god, this is embarrassing.  
"House, do you think this is appropriate behavior for a department head? I don't want to even think if our son sees you doing this?"  
"He's a horny teenager. He probably has these sites bookmarked."  
"I hope not, but if he does. I don't need you to reinforce these types of behaviors."  
"Cuddy, I'm a pill-popping misanthropic jerk. I don't think our son will be using me as a role model on traditional values. If he does, he's an idiot."  
"I didn't come here to fight. I just want you to go over the patient's file and let me know what you think."  
Cuddy leaned over to House and asked "Jake is down in HR going through orientation. He's due for a break in a few minutes; would you like to join us for lunch in the cafeteria?"  
"Sorry no can do, fraternizing with employees is inappropriate behavior for a department head." House replied sarcastically.  
Cuddy rolled her eyes and came back with "Keep it up and you're definitely not getting a head."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

Jake smacked the alarm clock shortly after it went off at 6:45AM. He immediately jumped into the shower and got himself ready for work. He went to the kitchen to make coffee, but instead saw a note affixed to the coffee maker that read, "Smell of coffee will make Mom nauseous. Go get coffee at work." He sighed aloud and decided to hunt for something else to devour in the fridge. A quick check of his watch confirmed that he had exactly 15 minutes to eat breakfast. He got a piece of bagel from the fridge, sliced it in half, and placed it in the toaster. His mom joined him just when the bagels popped-out of the toaster. He offered half of the bagel to his mom and poured two glasses of orange juice.  
"Thank you, hon."  
"No problem. Did you…you know this morning?"  
"No, I'm fine this morning. Hopefully, it stays that way."  
At precisely 7:20AM, both mother and son were out the front door. They walked into the PPTH lobby ten minutes later. Cuddy was about to lean to kiss her son goodbye, when Jake glared at her.  
"Mom, please don't embarrass me on my first day at work." Jake said in a _low tone, almost a whisper._  
Cuddy smiled and whispered back "I love you, hon. Make me proud and keep an eye on your Dad."  
Cuddy went straight to her office, while Jake took the elevator up to the fourth floor.

With his jacket off, Jake sat and logged-on to his Dad's computer. While the computer was booting, he began reading through the pile of papers on House's desk. Jake was thankful that his mom insisted on giving him a quick walk-through of what needed to be done yesterday afternoon. He would have been bored silly if he had to sit around doing nothing while waiting for his Dad. By the time House showed up at around eleven, Jake had read through all two of the three stacks of papers on his Dad's desk.  
"Good morning Boss." Jake greeted his Dad and handed him a cup of coffee.  
House placed his backpack on the floor, took the mug and had a sip.  
"Black coffee with sugar. Just like you like it."  
"Hmm…I missed my morning coffee. I'm still half-asleep until I have at least a cup of coffee.  
What time did you get here?"  
"7:30. I carpooled with Mom."  
"Did your mom dress you up too?"  
"Of course not. What's wrong with classic, clean, and ironed clothes?"  
"You look like you just stepped-out of a preppy catalog."  
"I'm sure there's much worse things than being called preppy."  
"You work in a hospital not modeling for Ralph Lauren. And if you don't take that damn tie off, I will have to disown you."

_There was nothing wrong with Jake's wardrobe. House just felt a pang of jealously that his son didn't get his sense of style or his rebellious streak. Jake is a very fastidious, organized, and punctual young man— definitely his mother's son. House hoped that in the next couple of months, he'd be able to influence his son's view of life and medicine, if not his sense of style. It was one of the main reasons why he was willing to forego the promotion if it means that he would not be shut out of his second child's life. House hated his father, but the SOB was there while he was growing up. House felt that because he missed the first fifteen years of Jake's life, he was worse than his father was. _

Jake took his tie off as instructed, but quickly changed the topic and asked his Dad if he had reviewed the stack of resumes on his desk.  
"Nope. Did you?"  
"Yes, I've read them."  
"And?"  
"What do you want to know? Do you want me to rank them?"  
"Sure, amuse me."  
"Well, it's hard to rank sets of people in the absence of a criterion. So, I'll make up three categories by which I'll rank the top three candidates. If you're looking for a balance between experience and academic, I'll go with Matters, Foreman, and Henderson. If you're looking for potential—sorta diamonds in the rough, I'll go with Cameron, Mathis, and Patel. If you're looking for the best academically qualified, I'll go with Chang, Foreman, and Nwanze.  
Anyway, there are almost sixty CVs on that stack; these are the eight that impressed me."  
House nodded and said "Okay, I'm impressed that you read through all sixty of them. I would have tossed them in the thrash and saw what fell off. Contact all the references listed on their CV and arrange for an interview with all eight of them."  
"Okay Boss."  
"By the way, I only want to interview one candidate per week."  
Jake gave him a puzzled look and replied, "It will take 8 weeks to complete the interview."  
"Oh really? I've often wondered what 8 X 1 would equal to."  
When Jake continued to have a bewildered look on his face, House added "Lesson #1 my boy: Work smart, not hard. If I don't have a team, I can't accept cases. If I don't have a case, I don't have to work."

Jake simply shook his head and was about to walk away when he remembered to inform his Dad that he had asked Brenda to reschedule all his clinic hours in the afternoons. The schedule is already set for this week, but she said she'll take you whenever you decide to show up.  
"And why would I voluntarily show up for clinic duty?"  
"Because Mom told Brenda to add the number of hours you missed this week to your next week's schedule. Mom also said that she can continue doing so until you have a case."

"You know what would impress me by now?"  
Jake shook his head and mockingly stated, "I can only use my superpower to fight evil. Sorry, I can't make your clinic duties go away."  
"You do know I'm your boss, right?"  
"Of course. And Dr. Cuddy is just the woman who carried me in her womb for nine months."  
House grinned and thought to himself Jake definitely got that snarkyness from him.

***

Around noon, House limped next door to check the mini-fridge for food; he found a brown bag labeled Jake. He smiled and exclaimed "Sweet!"  
He opened the bag and saw a note that said

Dear Dad,

Mom said you will probably steal my lunch so, I made extra for you.

Your son,  
Jake

House was grinning from ear-to-ear as he took the brown bag back to his desk.  
After Jake returned from lunch, he went through House's charts and patiently placed "sign here" flags so his Dad could easily see where to sign.  
House rolled his eyes when Jake placed the stack of charts back on his desk with the instruction to sign where he placed the post-it flags.  
"I hate these girly sticky things."  
"Great! If you sign your name right next to them, you'll get to take them off one by one."  
"If I want them on my charts, I would have hired a secretary. They have nicer pair of knockers than you."  
Jake rolled his eyes and walked off to the conference room next door.

Jake started reading the stack correspondences that his Dad received. They were letters from doctors all over the world—some asking for his opinions, others requesting consults, and a few were simply fan mails. Jake was simply amazed by the extent of his father's fame in the medical community and made notes about reading some of his Dad's published papers. Jake took interest in quite a few of the letters and inquired as to what he did to all of them. House told his son that he didn't bother with them and regularly tossed them in the thrash.  
Jake was taken aback by his Dad's response and asked if he would mind if he responded to all of them.  
"Why bother? It's not like you could save them all."  
"I don't know. Maybe, because it's the right thing to do. These people took the time to write to you. Don't you think they deserve a response?"  
"No, because they'll feel the same guilt as you did. Then, they'll have to reply to your response. Next thing you know, you'll have to meet them for coffee when they're in town."  
"Can you imagine the horror in that? Oh god, relationships will have to be established and medical ideas will have to be exchanged. What will the world come to?" Jake sarcastically replied to his Dad._  
_"Go ahead knock yourself out. They'll get tossed back to the thrash when you head off to med school."

At around 3:15 PM, House limped to the conference room and declared "I'm done with the charts and heading down to go check on your mom."  
"Is she okay?"  
"Don't know. She's not picking up her phone."  
"Mind if I come? Your clinic duty starts in fifteen minutes; I'd like to tag along."  
"No, to the former and yes, to the latter. You can't come with me when I visit your mom. Mommy and Daddy have important grownup things to talk about. However, you can meet me afterward. You're welcome to see Daddy wipe snots and check crotches at the clinic."

***

House was planning to barge into Cuddy's office but quickly changed his mind when he saw her through the glass panel. He couldn't help but be in awe of how beautiful she looked with her hair tied back. She must have tied her hair back after making multiple trips to the bathroom praying to the porcelain god. Lisa was reading through her meeting notes when she inadvertently glanced up and caught Greg watching her through the glass panel. She flashed a smile and signaled for him to enter. House felt a flutter in his stomach as he realized how lucky he was to have her.  
"Hey."  
"How's our boy?"  
"Great! He definitely got your perverse sense of guilt and your administrative genes."  
"Because he's making you fill-in your charts? They're supposed to be due to the billing department at the end of every month not end of the year."  
He shrugged and whined, "He used girly sticky stuff on my charts."  
Cuddy smiled "I gave it to him and told him that it's probably the only way you'll sign them--short of him hovering over and individually flipping them for you to sign. Did it work?"  
"Yeah, finished signing them and now I can't move my arms. I think I'm gonna need your help in unzipping my pants to go to the bathroom."  
Cuddy walked over and gave him a peck on the cheek.  
Lisa teasingly replied "Sorry, I have a board meeting to attend. I'll help unzip your pants later."  
House pulled her by the waist and kissed her passionately on the lips.  
She had to gently push him away to catch her breath.  
"What was that for?"  
"I don't know. Maybe, I just wanted to express how much I l..ike you."  
"Oh…Ok. I like you too, Greg."  
House gently placed his hand on her belly and asked, "How are you feeling?"  
"Not bad. I only threw up three times today. I have been avoiding the cafeteria and the pantry rooms on each floor. Now, I just need to find a way to avoid staff with coffee breath." Lisa smiled weakly.  
Cuddy's assistant interrupted their conversation to remind her that the Board meeting will start in five minutes. Cuddy hurriedly gathered her papers for the meeting and told House not to touch anything.

Now, why does she have to say that? She left him with no choice; the rebel in him now had to go through her stuff just to annoy her.  
House was trying to logon to her PC when Jake saw him through the glass panel from the nurse station.  
"Dad, your clinic duty starts in three minutes. What are you doing on Mom's PC?"  
"What do you think I'm doing, genius?"  
"Oh god, you're hacking into her PC. She's going to kill you."  
"No, she's not because you're going to help me."  
"And why will I do that?"  
"Because, Mama Bear don't eat their young. Besides, I know you hacked into the State Department's network. This is a cakewalk for you."  
"How do you know about that?"  
"Because Mama Bear gets very talkative after she and Papa Bear do the nasty."  
"Oh god! Enough with these mental pictures that will leave me emotionally scarred for life."  
"I'm waiting here."  
"Check her rolodex. She writes all her passwords under '**P**'."  
"Partypants!"  
"That's her password? What the hell does that mean?"  
House grinned and replied, "It was her nickname in college."  
"Do I really want to know how she got that nickname?"  
"Hmm…maybe not."

While Jake nervously stood as a lookout, House went through Cuddy's calendar.  
"Are you done yet? We are so gonna get caught. I'm going to get fired on my first day by my own mother."  
"Stop being melodramatic, she's in a board meeting and will not be back for at least an hour." House continued writing down names and dates.  
After House got what he needed, he got up and limped towards his son.  
"How can you call yourself a professional sneaker when you're already sweating bullets sneaking up to your own mother's office?"  
"First of all, I never called myself a professional sneaker. Second, I'm not used to physically sneaking into someone's office. I can get the same info you took from mom's computer in the privacy of our office."  
"Really? Well, you just have to show me how to do that." A grin formed in House's face.

***

"Dr. House checking in at 3:30PM."  
The nurse at the station simply rolled her eyes and wrote 3:30PM even though it was almost 4:00PM.  
House picked up a chart, took a quick glance at it, and handed it to Jake.  
Jake followed House to exam room #1 and quietly asked his Dad "Why are we here? The nurse said the patient is in exam room #3."  
"Because, it's rude to discuss a patient in front of him."  
"You mean her. The patient's name is Carmen."  
"You've read the file?"  
"I glanced through it."  
"What are her symptoms?"  
"Headache, nausea, weakness, tiredness, and dizziness."  
"What's your diagnosis?"  
"Sounds like the common flu."

House walked out of the room and entered exam room #3. Jake quietly followed him.  
"So, how can I help you?"  
Jake discreetly whispered "Carmen".  
"Carmen, right?"  
"Yes sir."  
" Dr. House and this here is Doogie House-r."  
The patient began reciting her symptoms.  
House pretended to listen and asked when her last period was?  
"My menstrual cycle is irregular so I'm always late. It doesn't mean I'm pregnant"  
Let me rephrase my question "How long has it been since your last menstrual cycle?"  
"About two months ago but I'm on the pill. I can't be pregnant."  
"Sure, that's what his mother said too." House pointed at Jake and winked.  
"Oh my god, I can't be pregnant. My husband has been deployed to Iraq."  
House tied a large rubber band around her arm and withdrew some blood. He handed the test tube to Jake and added "I'm sure your husband will be happy to know that he's not shooting blanks."  
Carmen whispered, "He's been away for six months."  
House bit his lips and replied, "By this time tomorrow, we'll know if I'm right or wrong. The clinic will have someone help you with all available options."  
The patient was still in shock when both House and Jake left the exam room.  
Jake shook his head and mumbled, "Her husband is definitely going to kill her."  
"No, he's not. He'll never know that she was pregnant."  
"You think she's going to terminate?"  
House nodded and told Jake to hand the chart and the test tube to the nurse.  
The nurse handed another chart to House and pointed to exam room #1.

***

"Dr. House signing out at 5:30PM."  
"It's not even 5:10PM," Cuddy scowls at him.  
"I'm rounding off to the nearest half hour."  
Cuddy looked over House's shoulder and admonishes her son for not wearing a lab coat in the clinic.  
"Sorry, I don't have one." Jake replied to his mom.  
"Use your dads, it's not like he'll ever use his."  
The nurse on duty jerked her head up. "Did Dr. Cuddy just say that Dr. House is the father of her son?"


	12. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

"Hey Romeo! Was that Candy, the stripper you were chatting with?"  
"Dad! Her name is Kaitlin and she's a candy striper not a stripper!"

"Yeah, same difference."

"It's a huge difference. What if I call your girlfriend a …an unpleasant name?"

"I would call you an ingrate and you'll get some ass whooping from mommy dearest."

"Whatever, Dad."

"Are you going out tonight?"

"Yes, Paul and I are going to a soccer game."

"Good."

"Oh Dad? Can I barrow your car?"

"You know that I own a beat-up old mercury, right?"

Jake nodded and replied "I'm sure it'll be much better than Paul's stinky car."

"Suit yourself."

House then asked. "Do you want a car? I'm sure your mom and I can help with you know..."

Jake was surprised by the offer but politely said no. "I'm waiting for my bike to get shipped. They said it'll get here in 2-5 weeks."

"The Kawasaki Versys, right?"

"Yes, I had it for a couple of years and it got me around."

"I used to own a bike when I was your age. I had fun with it."

"If you enjoyed it, you should get another one. Relive your youth."

"Maybe I will."

"Just make sure you don't tell mom until after you've already bought the bike. She calls mine a death trap."

House smiled at his son's remark.

"Do you still need me here, Dad?"

"Nope." House handed his car key to Jake and proclaimed, "Go and do what kids your age do. And Jake?"

"Yeah Dad?"

"You did good today, kid."

"Thanks Dad. I'm gonna head down and say goodbye to Mom."

***

The next two weeks went by smoothly as both father and son got into a routine. Jake spent his mornings taking caring of his Dad's correspondences and returning phone calls. By the time House arrived at around ten, Jake usually had consults lined-up for him. Cuddy would often see the duo laughing and playing catch with House's thinking ball while discussing a case. She was very happy that her boys were bonding well and was simply beside herself when Brenda informed her that House was actually doing all his clinic duties as well.

By mid-week, Cuddy got a surprising call from Dr. Myer, her OB/GYN for the last five years congratulating her on her marriage. Myer told her not to feel bad about getting a new OB and it'll be silly for her to continue seeing her if she and her husband, Greg are moving to Virginia. Lisa was so dumbstruck by what she was hearing that all she could say was "okay and thank you". She was so livid at House that she was actually imagining ways of killing him. Her homicidal thought was only interrupted by a phone call from Dr. Keeler's staff who called to confirm her upcoming appointment. Dr. Keeler was one of the top OB/GYNs in the country. She asked "how were you able to find a slot for me, I have been on the waiting list for at least five years?" She was told how lucky she was that her husband, Greg called just moments after a patient cancelled. Lisa thought that this definitely had House's fingerprints are all over.

Cuddy was happy that House figured a way to weasel her into Dr. Keeler's schedule. However, it didn't negate the fact that he did it without consulting her. Cuddy was still fuming when she marched into House's office. She was about to yell at House when she realized that he had his eyes closed and his headphones on. He was so caught up with the music that he didn't even notice Cuddy was inches away. She grabbed his headphone off and started reading him the riot act.

"What the hell did you do to get me in Keeler's schedule? Did you pretend to be the husband of one of her patients and gave them the story that you and the wife were moving to Virginia?"  
"Of course not. That wouldn't be original."  
"You want me to believe that you just happened to call Keeler's office moments after they got a cancellation?"  
"Sure. Why not?"  
"Because it's unbelievable."  
"What's unbelievable about a patient asking her handsome doctor if he knows of a good OB/GYN in Virginia? After that said handsome doctor found out that her current OB is Dr. Keeler, he may have told her that the best time to inform Dr. Keeler's office that she's leaving the state is after he calls his OB/GYN friend in Virginia."  
"You don't have an OB/GYN friend in Virginia."  
"She doesn't know that."  
"Oh god, the poor lady won't have an OB/GYN when she moves."  
"Relax. Your boy arranged for a Dr. Miller in iNOVA to take her. Apparently, this Miller is a fan of mine."  
"Oh, okay."  
"I got you on the patient's list of the most sought after OB/GYN in NJ and all I get is okay?"  
"Thank you. I appreciate you getting me in Keeler's list, but it doesn't absolve you from that fact that you went behind my back."  
"Yada yada yada" to signal that he was done with the discussion; he placed his headphone back on.  
Lisa did not appreciate being ignored at all so, she pulled the headphone plug from his iPod.  
"What the F…!"  
"You can listen to your precious music in your own time. Go work on the case I gave you."  
"I can't, I don't have a team."  
"Then hire a team. Have you even interviewed anyone?"  
"Of course."  
"How many have you interviewed?"  
"One."  
"One out the stack of resumes I gave you?"  
"You'll have to talk to my assistant over there. He's making all the interview arrangements." House pointed to the conference room next door.  
Cuddy walked over and knocked at the glass wall to catch her son's attention. Like his father, Jake also had his iPod on. She signaled for him to come over to House's office.  
Cuddy asked her son "Why haven't you set-up more interviews? There were lots of good candidates in that stack."  
"I know Mom." Jake put on his puppy dog eyes and added, "You told me how important it is that Dad gets a good team so; I just want to make sure I vet them all."  
House had to turn around so Cuddy won't catch him sniggering at his son's acting skills.  
"I already set up eight interviews. But since a lot of them are flying from all over the country, the dates are pretty wide apart."  
"How wide apart? When is the last interview scheduled?"  
"If Dad finds a candidate that he likes, he may hire one or two fellows sooner."  
"Jacob Gregory Cuddy! When is the last interview scheduled?"  
"In about eight weeks."  
Cuddy glared at House and told him "you better hire at least one fellow by Wednesday or else..."  
"Or else what?"  
Cuddy strode past both men without uttering a word, both House and Jake exchange puzzled look.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

House entered the conference room and loomed over his son's desk.

"What's up?"

"You wanna hear a good story?"

"Sure"

"I just got off the phone with a Rheumatologist, who apparently is my new BFF. We've been exchanging e-mails and all. Even provided him with clinical research materials and introduced him to the new head oncologist of my hospital."

"Oh, I can…"

"No, don't interrupt. This gets better." House stated sarcastically. "Apparently, my new BFF has a son who's a doctor and I'm all sympathetic to given I too have a son in med school. And here's the kicker— his son is flying half way across the world to work for me as a fellow."

"Dad, let me explain. It is true that I've provided him research materials and introduced him to Dr. Wilson. I may have even told him that I, meaning you will interview his son, but I never promised him the job. Dr. Chase's son is in town to visit family, so I opportunely scheduled him for an interview tomorrow."

"And why will I agree to interview him, much less tomorrow?"

"Because you've only interviewed one candidate, and I'm not sure if you'll like the one you'll be interviewing later. Interviewing another candidate before Wednesday gives you at least three to choose from."

"Since when do I ever listen to your mother's arbitrary deadline?"

"Since now! If for no other reason than to get back in her good graces, so she'll stop giving you the silent treatment. So what if you think that mom's deadline is unreasonable? Mom's having her first pre-natal appointment with Dr. Keeler on Wednesday. You'd want to be there for her when she has her first sonogram; you'll even get to see the baby."

House rolled his eyes and argued weakly "It's not like I've never seen a sonogram before. You see one fetus, you seen them all."

"Yeah, were any of them your own child? Stop pretending like it doesn't matter because I know it means a lot to you. You didn't have to go through all the effort to get Dr. Keeler for mom; Dr. Myer would have done a fine job. You did it because you know that Mom has been on Keeler's waiting list for five years and you'll do anything to make her happy."

House rolled his eyes and mockingly asked "Okay Dr. Phil, hand me the resume of victim number two?"

Jake handed him a folder which included candidate #2's CV and additional notes that Jake had gathered while verifying references. Candidate #2 is Dr. Anthony Matters, a 33-year old internist. He graduated top of his class at Case Western University and up until recently has been practicing medicine in Asia with the World Health Organization. The rest of the resume proved that Dr. Matters is a very well qualified candidate with extensive experience.

House read the package that Jake prepared for victim #1, and was looking forward to what amusing facts about the candidate was Jake able to unearth this time. He found it hilarious how people say the darndest things about their supposedly friend, relative, or colleague. According to victim #2's old college roommate, Matters once dated a girl who later turned out to be a guy. A cousin let it slipped that Matters moved to Asia after he caught his wife having an affair with the gardener. And his old boss mentioned that the reason Matters left for the states was because he recently found God. And God told him to go home and forgive his wife. House smirked and prepared himself for an interesting interview.

***

Shortly after Cuddy got off the phone with a donor, Jake knocked at his mother's door.  
"Hey Mom"  
"Hey Hon. What's going on?"  
"Dad is interviewing someone in his office. Do you mind if I hang out with you for awhile?"  
Cuddy smiled and said, "I would really love that. So, are you enjoying your internship with your Dad?"  
"Yeah. I'm learning a lot about medicine and his unique philosophies. But most of all, I really enjoy spending time with Dad."  
"I'm very happy to hear that my boys are getting along great. Do you know how I met your Dad?"  
"Oh god. Will this be rated PG or R?"  
"I'm serious Jake. Your dad was my TA in college. He is a natural teacher. I learned a lot from him, but he can be impatient at times."  
"He is a great teacher. So far, he has nothing but been patient with me and sometimes I wonder if he's handling me with a kid glove."  
"He is very proud of you, Jake. I once heard him told Dr. Noonan in Hematology that you know more about blood than Noonan's doctor."  
"That's not saying much, Mom. Noonan's doctors are idiots!"  
"Jake!"  
Jake grinned. His expression turned serious as he looked over and asked "Mom?"  
"Yes Hon?"  
Jake pointed at the bump on her belly and asked, "Will the baby's last name be Cuddy or House?"  
"Your dad insists that the baby gets his last name. He or she will be a House."  
"How do you feel about that?"  
"I am more than fine with it. Do you know that one of the reasons that he has been doing clinic lately is so he can parade you as his son. He likes that you're wearing his lab coat because people refers to you as Dr. House too."  
Jake nodded and added "Mom, will it be okay if I officially change my last name to House too? I like to have the same last name as my baby brother or sister."  
Cuddy bobbed her head and smiled at his son. "That will be perfect. Your dad will be ecstatic when he hears the news."

***

House barged into Cuddy's office, glared at his son and said "If you send me another whack job, I'm gonna whack your job."  
Cuddy calmly intervened "I gather that the interview didn't go well?"  
"Not unless I'm looking for someone who'll save souls instead of lives."  
Jake interrupted his Dad's rant by saying "He's a very well qualified doctor who recently went through a religious conversion; it doesn't make him a whack job."  
"People don't change. They don't suddenly change because they found God. Which by the way strikes me as odd, if God is all-powerful why is he always lost. One would think he could afford his own GPS system. Oh and why is it that it's always these whack job that finds him?"  
Jake rolled his eyes at his dad and said "I'm gonna head back to the office now."  
"It's about damn time. I didn't hire you to hang out and gossip with your mommy."  
Jake sighed aloud and said goodbye to his mom.

"So, do you wanna grab a bite?" House nonchalantly asked Cuddy.  
"You know I'm still mad at you, right?"  
House replied in a gentle tone "I know, but you like me too much to stay angry for too long. Besides, you'd wanna hear your son's latest exploit in his quest to save my social reputation. "  
Cuddy smiled at House's response because he's absolutely right. She loves him too much to stay angry and she was also curious as to what her son had been up to. Both father and son have been playing spy games on each other and she's just happy to play Switzerland.

It all started when House gave Jake the green light to reply to his letters and screen all requests for consults. Jake knew that his father's reputation as an acerbic jerk preceded him, so he made the extra effort to repair that image. Jake replied to all his letters politely and would often personalize it by mentioning little details that are dear to the person he was addressing it to. It was a skill that he learned from years of seeing his Nana's work as a premier diplomat.

House found out about it when he started getting chummy voice messages from Doctors he has never heard of inviting him for coffee, lunch, dinner, golf, etc. He became suspicious, so he started reading the 'send box' on his e-mail. House found the whole thing very amusing. Instead of reprimanding his son, he began playing along. Soon, Jake's rehabilitation of House's reputation became a favorite subject of Lisa and Greg's nightly pillow talks.

As House and Cuddy walked out of the office, Greg asked, "Do you know that I own MySpace & Facebook pages?"  
Cuddy furrowed her brows and said "No. Why would you need one?"  
"As a totally rad diagnostician, I need a place to get down with my peeps."  
Cuddy grinned and stated, "Don't tell me you're now getting voice messages from med students too?"  
"No, I get PMs!"


	14. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

_**Tuesday**_

House strolled in to the hospital lobby at around half past ten and looked over to his right to take a quick peek if Lisa was in her office. He didn't see her, so he proceeded to the elevator. As he approached his office, he sees his son in the midst of what appears to be a serious discussion with someone. He sees a man with a short dark hair wearing a white lab coat. He immediately deduces that it's another Doctor who's probably in for a consult.

As House walked-in, Jake stood up from his dad's chair and introduced the visitor "Dr. House, this is Dr. Wilson, the new head of Oncology."  
Wilson stood up and offered his hand for a handshake. House nodded at him but never took the younger doctor's hand. House dropped his backpack on the floor, sat on his chair, and gave Jake a nod.  
Jake recognized that his Dad wants privacy, politely said goodbye to Wilson and walked over to the conference room.

"I barely recognized you without the bars between us." House snarked in reference to their last meeting.  
"Well, it's nice to be free. I can't thank you enough for bailing me out."  
"No problem. I heard you've been occupying the office next door for about a week or two now?"  
"Yes, I started last week. I dropped by a few times, but you weren't here. Your assistant, Jake has been godsend. He's been showing me around and introducing me to everyone."  
"Has he? Remind me to give him more things to do."  
Wilson raised his brows, but decided to let the comment slide.  
"I was really excited when Dr. Cuddy told me that my office will be next to you."  
"Why's that?"  
"Huh, I was afraid I wouldn't know anyone. I'm just glad at least I'll know one neighbor." Wilson fidgeted like a school boy being quizzed by the principal.  
"I hope you had them sterilize the room before you moved in. That office has seen more action than Studio 54."  
Anxiety began to show on Wilson's face as he tried to remember if Dr. Cuddy had mentioned anything about sterilization. "I guess, I'll have to ask maintenance about that."  
Wilson glanced at his watch and said "Jake mentioned that you have an eleven o'clock appointment, so I'm not going take any more of your time. It was really nice seeing you again, House."  
House nodded to acknowledge Wilson's remark.  
As Wilson stood by the door, he turned around and asked "Would you like to have lunch later?"  
House hesitated for a few seconds and replied, "If you're paying, why not?"  
The oncologist gave a sigh of relief and said "Sure. I'll see you around noon then."

***

After Wilson left the office, Jake walked over to House and handed him two sheets of paper.  
"What's this?"  
"Candidate #3. He'll be here at eleven."  
"Is he that bad that he doesn't even get his own folder?"  
Jake shrugged his shoulder and said, "The others looked great on paper, but you still found fault in them. Maybe, less paper means you'll find fewer faults."

House rolled his eye and proceeded to read. Candidate #3 is Dr. Robert Chase, a 28-year old Intensivist. He graduated from the University of Melbourne and has been specializing in Intensive Care Medicine at St. Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne Australia. He is the only son of the world renowned Rheumatologists, Dr. Rowan Chase.

His father said that Robert was elected school captain and played rugby in high school. His ex-girlfriend, Nicole mentioned that he attended seminary school. His Aunt Shirley described Robert as "a responsible young man who took care of his mother after his SOB father walked out on the family."

House felt a tug at his heart because he identified clearly with Rowan Chase. They're both pillars in their respective fields, and their success cast a large shadow over their sons. As House watched his own son through the glass door, he eagerly waited to find out if Rowan's boy has what it took to emerge from his father's shadow.

***

Jake met Dr. Chase by the nurse's station at the lobby.  
"Hi, are you Dr. Chase?"  
"Yes"  
"I'm Jake Cuddy, Dr. House's assistant. I'll be taking you to his office."  
"Thank you mate."  
The two exchange pleasantries about the weather and the traffic.  
And then Chase asked "How long have you been working with Dr. House?"  
"Not long."  
"How is he in person?"  
Jake smiled, opens the door to the office, and said, "Why don't you see it for yourself?"  
"Dr. Chase, meet Dr. House."  
House nodded at his son and Chase mumbled quick thanks as Jake left the room.  
"So, you're Rowan's boy? Are you as good as your father?"  
Chase was taken aback by House's questions. He hesitated for a second but quickly replied, "We specialize in two different fields, it's hard to compare. If however I'd get a chance to work with you, maybe I'll surpass him someday."  
House smirked at Chase's response and asked, "Does daddy always make the phone call for you?"  
"It was worth the try. Did it work?"  
"Daddy got you the interview. Now let's see if you can get the job."

***

_**Wednesday**_

"So, what time is our appointment with Keeler today?" House asked Cuddy as he peed in the toilet.  
Cuddy was brushing her hair by the sink and replied "What's with the 'our appointment'? I told you can't come if you don't hire a fellow by Wednesday."  
"What makes you think I haven't?"  
"I distinctly remember you describing the two candidates you interviewed as 'whack jobs'. What happened, did they suddenly transform or did you change your mind?"  
"No. I hired the third one I interviewed."  
"According to your 'one interview a week quota', your next interview will not be until next week."  
"Well, I adjusted the quota to two this week. I hired Rowan Chase's boy yesterday."  
"Chase, the Rheumatologist? I don't remember seeing his name on the stack."  
"His name wasn't. He's a product of your son's budding social-networking project."  
"Ok, when does he start?"  
"I don't know. Something about needing an H1-B Visa to start."  
"What? That will take months to process. Leave it you to find the most difficult path to take."  
"So, what time is our appointment with Keeler?"  
"Our appointment is at one o'clock. We should leave the hospital around noon in case there's traffic."  
"Keeler's office is only fifteen minutes away."  
"I know. We can eat lunch at the café next door before the appointment. I'll need a full bladder for the scan anyway."


	15. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

The drive downtown was uneventful. The traffic was light and House immediately found a handicap parking available right beside Dr. Keeler's clinic. He pointed to the café, but Cuddy decided that she wanted to try the bistro next to café.  
House gave Cuddy a baffled look "I thought you wanted to eat at the café."  
"I changed my mind."  
House simply rolled his eyes at Cuddy's response.  
Cuddy ordered a salad and House opted for the soup & sandwich special, after seeing that they didn't have Reuben sandwich on the menu.  
After the waitress brought their lunch, House noticed that Cuddy barely touched her salad and asked "Is there something wrong with your salad?"  
Cuddy shook her head and said, "No, your soup looks better."  
"Its corn chowder, do you want it?"  
"Yes, please."  
House moved the soup towards Cuddy and noticed that she is now eyeing his turkey sandwich. "Do you want this too?"  
She nodded and said "Greg, I think this baby got your taste buds. I have been craving all the food you've been eating."  
House is surprised by Cuddy's admission and replied "Good. The baby has great taste. This means we can now enjoy the same good food as a family."  
House called the waitress back and asked for another turkey sandwich.

While they were eating, Cuddy reminded him that they'd need to plan a trip to Boston soon.  
"Jake starts school in six weeks and we have yet to settle on where he's staying."  
"I thought we've already settled that. We'll get him a nice apartment off campus."  
"No, you made a promise to our son without consulting me. I never agreed to it."  
Cuddy reached over to take some chips off House's plate. He frowned at her action, but continued munching his sandwich.  
"Anyway, I've asked Dr. Martin to reserve a room for Jake. I want you both to see it first before you sign any apartment lease."  
"Why are you so hang-up with this dorm? Don't you want your son to have a full college experience? Besides, how is he going to impress girls if he can barely fit them in his room?"  
Lisa teasingly replied "You didn't have an apartment when you were in med school and you impressed me just fine" as she reached over to get more chips from House's plate.  
House glared at her again and said, "You'll need a full bladder for your scan, not a full stomach."  
Cuddy simply stuck her tongue out at House.

***

From the outside, Dr. Keeler's clinic looked like any other row house on Main Street but the interior design rivaled that of PPTH. It was made up of two row houses and elegantly decorated in clean contemporary style. The reception area had a curved opaque-glass desk and the storage space was hidden behind a sleek high gloss back wall. The waiting area was adorned by a gorgeous triangular glass fireplace and stylish sofas, which contrasted beautifully with the dark hardwood floors. An opaque-glass section, which slid on tracks, separated the reception area from the exam rooms. The space looked more like a high-end art gallery than a clinic.

House commented on how he should have been an OB/GYN because it looked like 'Keeler is definitely making a killing'. This earned Greg a sharp elbow to his ribs and was told to shut up. They walked over to the reception desk and Cuddy introduced herself. The receptionist checked her name in the computer and apologetically handed Cuddy several forms to fill-up. As Cuddy filled-in all the forms, House kept himself busy with all the 'what to expect when you're expecting' brochures.

After turning in all the forms back to the receptionist, a nurse escorted them to the exam room. It was a very nice size room; the one side of the room was set-up no different from the hospital's exam room. However, the other half was set up more like a home theater with Plasma TV on one side and a couch across from it. House wondered why they would have a TV & couch set up in the exam room. House points to the TV and said, "I think that's a sign that we'll be here for awhile." At about the same time, Dr. Keeler strolled into the room and interjected "I can assure you that we're not going to keep you a second longer than needed." She smiled at both Lisa and Greg and introduced herself.  
She added, "The home theater environment you see is when we have a baby viewing party." Dr. Keeler points to one of two sonogram machines in the room and said "That's the one and only 4D ultrasound machine in New Jersey. The pictures are so life like, that parents usually bring their other children or grandparents to get a sneak preview of the baby before they're born."

House nodded and said "Cool. I've read about it, but haven't actually seen one."  
Cuddy asked "we'll we get to see 4D images of our baby today?"  
Dr. Keeler shook her head and replied, "I recommend that we do a full 4D ultrasound exam between your 27th and 32nd week of pregnancy."  
Both House and Cuddy nodded at Dr. Keeler's recommendation.  
Dr. Keeler went through Lisa's usual pre-natal exam. She asked Cuddy several questions about how she had been feeling in the last few weeks and inquired if she experienced any unexpected symptoms.  
Cuddy looked over at House and mentioned that her breast has increased a cup size. To which House wagged his eyebrows, but immediately bit his lip to prevent himself from commenting.  
She mentioned that the smell of coffee still makes her nauseous; she noticed her appetite has not only increased but it also changed, and she also complained about frequent trips to the bathroom.

Cuddy mentioned that it's been eighteen years since her first pregnancy and that she doesn't recall having experienced several of the symptoms she's currently experiencing. As a doctor, Lisa knew that her symptoms were not unusual for a pregnant woman, but as an expectant mother, she just need to hear Dr. Keeler's reassurance that everything was going to be fine.  
House was surprisingly quiet during the entire exam. He paid attention to every detail that Dr. Keeler was doing or saying.  
Dr. Keeler wrote a few things on the chart and asked, "Are you up for a regular sonogram exam now?"  
Lisa smiled and answered "Sure."  
Dr. Keeler gave Lisa the usual warning that the gel might be a bit cold and then placed a good amount of gel over Lisa's belly. As Dr. Keeler placed the transducer over Lisa's abdomen, Greg gave Lisa's hand a squeeze. Upon the first sign of the fetus, House immediately shifted his seat closer to the bed to get a better view.  
Dr. Keeler smiled and stated "Dr. Cuddy and Dr. House meet your new baby."  
Tears started streaming down Cuddy's face as she was overjoyed by the sight of her baby.

Dr. Keeler zoomed-in on the screen to get an enhanced view of the fetus, and assessed that the baby was within the normal range of a 7-week old fetus.  
Cuddy gave a sigh of relief and looked over at House.  
Lisa noticed a deep furrow in House's brows. "Greg, what's wrong?"


	16. Chapter 16

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

"Greg, what's wrong?"  
House urgently stated, "There's only one gestational sac and I'm clocking the fetus' heartbeat at 122 bpm. Is that an echo I'm hearing?"  
Dr. Keeler zoomed-out to see a wider view of Lisa's uterus. She saw a tiny spot to the left and immediately moved the transducer in that direction and said, "There's the echo."  
The transducer picked up the heartbeat of the second fetus which had been hiding behind the first one.  
"Can you move it to the right just to make sure that there's not another one hiding there?"  
Dr. Keeler complied with House's request and said "Nope. Everyone is accounted for."  
An astounded but worried House asked Dr. Keeler "One ges sac and 2 yolk sacs?"  
Lisa asked "Monoamniotic-Monochorionic?"  
Dr. Keeler nodded her head and said "Yes, identical twins."  
She printed out copies of the sonogram pictures and handed it to Lisa. She also handed over a box of tissues to House.  
"I'm going to leave you two for a moment, okay?"  
Cuddy said thanks to Dr. Keeler and House gave her a nod.

House wiped the gel off Cuddy's belly and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.  
Lisa stroked Greg's face and gently kissed him on the lips. She looked into his blue eyes and found herself giggling from joy. "We're having twins, Greg."  
House took a deep breath and said "Lise, this is a high risk preg…"  
Cuddy placed her finger on House's lips "Don't. I want to enjoy this. I need to enjoy this. The two strong heartbeats we heard are our babies, Greg. I'm not going to worry about what we cannot control, I'm simply going to enjoy this moment. I need you here to share this moment with me."  
House nodded his head, wrapped his arms around her waist, and whispered, "I'm here. I'll always be here with you."

Dr. Keeler came back to the room, nodded at the couple, and asked "Are you two, okay? I know this can be overwhelming, but I always tell parents to just take everything in."  
Both House and Cuddy nodded at Dr. Keeler.

"Since you two are doctors, I'm not going to sugarcoat this. The risks that come with having Momo twins are high. Due to close proximity of the two umbilical cords in the amniotic sac, the twins may entangle in each other's cords, which endangers their oxygen and food supply. And Lisa, because of your size there might not be enough room for them to wiggle around."

"Do you both have any questions so far?  
House asked "What's the survival rate for Momo twins?  
"As I mentioned earlier, the risk is high. Half of Momo twins don't make it."  
"Lisa?"  
Lisa paused for a second and asked, "What can we do to minimize the risk of cord entanglement or cord compression?"  
"Good question. I want you and Dr. House to regularly monitor the babies' heart rate and movement. When you hit the 25th week, I'll recommend that you see a perinatologist (_maternal-fetal medicine specialist_) as well."

Dr. Keeler looked at both House and Cuddy to confirm if they have any more questions. When none was forthcoming, she proceeded "Now that we got that out of the way, let's go with the good news. The babies look good and measures up to a normal 7-week fetuses. We know from their heartbeats that they're doing great. I'd like to see if the shy one moves up front, so let's schedule a transvaginal scan next week."

As House walked over to the door to get Lisa's purse, Cuddy reached over Dr. Keeler hands and said "Thank you very much. I appreciate your patience and honesty."  
Dr. Keeler smiled and placed her other hand on top of Lisa's hand. "You are very welcome. The nurse will give you a packet with all the information on what to expect when you are expecting twins. Go over it with Dr. House and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to call me."  
Dr. Keeler looked Cuddy in the eye and said, "I mean it. Anytime you a have a question, call me."

In the corner of her eye, Dr. Keeler saw House roll his eye. She immediately added "And Dr. House, the reason I have a long waiting list for patients is I never took on more patients than I can handle."  
"By the way, Mrs. Simmons told me that you graciously arranged for Dr. Miller from iNOVA to take her as a patient. Dr. Miller is one of the best, good choice!"

House looked at Dr. Keeler as if she was growing a second head.  
"And one more thing. You didn't have to go through the ruse with Mrs. Simmons, Lisa was already first on the waiting list." Dr. Keeler winked at House and excused herself.  
"Did you see that? House asked Cuddy.  
"She what?" Cuddy pretended to haven't had seen the exchange between Keeler and House.  
"She winked at me. Your OB is hot for my bod!"  
Cuddy grinned and replied "No, she didn't. Dr. Keeler just read you like a book, and now you're making stuff up."


	17. Chapter 17

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

"Where the hell have you been?" a frantic Wilson met House by the elevator.  
"Having sex with Cuddy in the MRI." House replied in a matter-of-fact tone.  
"Dr. Cuddy? Inside an MRI?"  
"Yeah, large magnet, small space, needy administrator. Fill-in the blanks."  
"Seriously?"  
"Of course not, we did it in one of the exam rooms. It's more exciting when everyone can hear her moan."  
Wilson grinned and said "I don't blame you for fantasizing about her. She's hot!"  
Wilson suddenly noticed House looking daggers at him.  
"If you want to still work here, you better lay your hands off her."  
"Of course, I'm not going to put a move on my boss. I'm married, for god's sake."  
"Yeah, did it stop you from schtuping the intern when you were married to what's her name?"  
"I love my wife. Julie is different from Bonnie."  
"Right! Last year Bonnie was the love of your life, and now it's Julie!"  
"I'm not here to discuss my wives. I need a consult on a patient."

Wilson went right into describing his current patient "25-year old African-American female woke up one day to find a faint, red bruise on her breast and shoulder. She ignored the bruise thinking it was caused by lagging heavy boxes of telephone directories."  
"She uses her breast to lag telephone directories?"  
Wilson ignored House's sarcasm and continued, "When the bruise grew and the itching became unbearable, she came to the ER. One of the attending diagnosed her bruise as an infection. She was given antibiotics and told to change her bra and detergent to get rid of the rash."

"Those idiots! How did you get this patient?"  
"She came to the clinic this morning."  
"Did she have any other blunt trauma or fractured rib?"  
"No, nothing visible."  
"Is she taking any anticoagulant medication? Dicoumarol? Heparin? Warfarin?"  
"No, there's nothing on her chart."  
"Found any lumps on her breast?"  
"No lumps, just inflammation and swollen nodes."  
"Did you try a mammogram and ultrasound scans to verify that it's not breast cancer?"  
"Yes, both didn't detect any cancer."  
Both House and Wilson went through differential diagnosis (DDX) to identify what's wrong with the patient.

***

Jake greeted his Mom "hi".  
"Hey hon"  
"How was your appointment with Dr. Keeler?"  
Cuddy smiled and eagerly informed her son "You're going to be the big brother of twins! I'm surprised that your Dad hasn't told you yet."  
"No, Dr. Wilson got to him before I did. Now, he's knee deep in the case. Wooah… did you just say twins? As in two Houses at one time?"

Cuddy couldn't help but giggle at Jake's reaction. She said "yes" and handed him the sonogram picture.  
Jake stared at the fuzzy picture and said, "There's only one sac and I only see one fetus. Where's the other one?"  
Cuddy took the photo and pointed at the second baby. "Dr. Keeler referred to him or her as the 'shy one'."  
Jake squinted his eyes and asked "Ah…I can barely see it. Are you sure there is another one?"  
"It could just be a well-hung baby boy. It's a House family trait, you know" as Jake grinned at his own joke.

Cuddy simply rolled her eyes and ignored Jake's joke. "Oh, the shy one is definitely there. Dr. Keeler missed 'him or her' the first time, but your Dad heard 'his or her' heart beat echoing the other baby. The shy one's heartbeat became clearer after Dr. Keeler finally located 'him or her' hiding behind the other baby."  
Jake smiled at his mom's visible excitement. "The babies are healthy?"  
"Their heartbeats are so strong. I think your dad said he clocked them at the 120s."  
"I'm happy for you, Mom!" Jake gave his mom a big hug and gently rubbed her belly.

Cuddy's expression changed to worry when she informed Jake that the babies are Momo twins. "We'll need to regularly monitor their heart rates and movements."  
Jake hated to see his mom distressed so he tried to console her by saying "I wouldn't worry about it Mom. I'm sure dad will obsessively checkup on them." Jake jokingly added "He'll probably walk around with the sonogram machine instead of his cane."  
Cuddy smiled and quickly replied "As long as he doesn't steal it from the clinic." Jake simply laughed at his mom's response.  
"Mom? Did you and dad decide if you wanna find out the gender of the twins before they're born?"  
"Why?"  
Jake smirked and said, "the 'he/she', 'him/her' bit gets old really quickly."

***

At around six o'clock, Cuddy visited the Diagnostic department to check up on House. She hasn't seen nor heard from him ever since they returned from Dr. Keeler's clinic. Jake had mentioned that his dad has been working on a puzzling case with Wilson, so she thought she'd visit and inquire about the case. Cuddy took a quick peek at House's office and the conference room next door. With the exception of the lamp on House's desk, both rooms appear to be empty. She entered his office planning to leave a note on his desk, but was surprised to see House sprawled on the floor.

House had his headphone on and was seriously into whatever music he was listening to. She was about to pull the headphone when she heard "I wouldn't do that if I were you." A quick turn to her right revealed a haggard looking Dr. Wilson slumped on a chair.  
"Oh god! You just about gave me a heart attack."  
"I'm sorry Dr. Cuddy. I didn't mean to scare you."  
"What are you doing sitting in the dark?"  
"We're just taking a break while we wait for test results."  
Cuddy nodded at Wilson and turned back to look at House. She suddenly noticed the white board propped against the wall. It had a list of symptoms and possible diseases crossed out.

House finally opened his eyes and was pleasantly surprised to see Cuddy standing over him.  
He took his headphone off and greeted her "hey."  
She peeled her eyes off the white board just long enough to say "hey" back at him.  
Meanwhile, Wilson walked over by Cuddy to see what caught her interest on the white board.  
House isn't pleased by Wilson's proximity to Cuddy so he waved his cane between them and yelled "Cripple here needs room to stand." They moved to make room for him, Wilson even offered a hand, but House simply glared at him.

Cuddy continued to gaze at the board and asked, "Could it be spider bites?"  
Wilson offered, "No, we tested her for that. House thinks its cancer, but both Mammogram and ultrasound scans didn't detect any cancer. Dr. Brown is doing a blood biopsy to totally rule out cancer"  
"A breast cancer diagnosis without the usual breast cancer symptoms?" Cuddy rolled her eyes thinking only House will ever think of that.

Within minutes, Wilson received a page from Dr. Brown confirming that the blood biopsy results indicate cancer. As Wilson informed the two doctors of the results, House explained that the patient has Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC); it is a rare but very aggressive type of breast cancer in which the cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast.

House smugly announced "Another day, another life saved."  
Cuddy tells House "I'm starving. I'm in the mood for Mexican food."  
House simply nodded at Cuddy and gathered his things.  
Cuddy turned to Wilson and asked, "Care to join us for Mexican, James?"  
"Why are you inviting him?" House whispered to Cuddy.  
"If you guys don't mind? I'm famished, haven't eaten anything since breakfast." Wilson replied  
"Don't be silly. I insist that you come with us."  
House feeling ignored said, "Hey, I thought you're happily married now. Shouldn't you be home spending time with the love of your life?"  
"I'm hungry. I can spend time with Julie after I eat."  
Cuddy interrupted the two to tell them that she needed to wrap up a few things in her office. Instructed them to go ahead and she'll meet them at the restaurant.

As the two male doctors walk out of the hospital, House informed Wilson "You're driving."  
"Why? Where's your car?"  
"Jake has it. He's running some errands for me."  
"Wow, you trust your car with a teenage intern?"  
"Have you seen my car?  
"Good point. Speaking of Jake, did you know that he's only sixteen? The kid apparently is some kind of genius and is going to med school this fall. Can you believe that?"  
"Of course I know that, who do you think hired him?"  
"He's a good hire. Not only smart, but a good kid."  
"He is."  
"I'm sure Mr. and Dr. Cuddy are very proud of him."  
"They are."  
"Do you know Mr. Cuddy?"  
"You can say that…"


	18. Chapter 18

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

The early morning sun beamed down on Jake as he tried to parallel park his dad's car. He successfully found an empty spot across from 221B, but fitting into the available space was proving to be a challenge. After several tries and twice almost hitting the car behind him, he finally parked the car. Jake might be brilliant in a lot of things, driving wasn't one of them (not yet, anyway). Up until a few months ago, he had never driven anything other than his motorcycle. He hated driving what he referred to as a 'gas-guzzler' but realized if he wanted to venture outside of his mom's suburban home, he would need to learn to drive a car stat!

Jake entered House's apartment and went straight to the bedroom. He normally would have been at work by now; instead, he was rummaging through his boss' bedroom. Jake requested the morning off from his dad so he could run a few errands. House said yes to the morning off, but placed a condition on lending his car. In exchange for using his dad's car, Jake had to take his dad's clothes to the cleaners and pick up a few things. Sounded easy enough, he thought he'd be in and out in no time.

He looked around the bedroom hoping to find a small bag of clothes ready for dry cleaning but instead saw two huge laundry bags (more like sacks). By his estimation, it was probably two months worth of laundry. He sighed out load, and took a deep breath to calm himself. Jake tried to remember his dad's exact words.

"_You can have the car, if you take my clothes to the cleaners. You know where Kim's dry cleaning place is?" _Jake said to himself "He didn't mention anything about doing his laundry, he just said take it to the laundry place. Good, I can do that."

"_And pick up the mail, some clean clothes, and groceries for me, okay. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get away from the ball of chain you call mother." _Jake reassured himself that he could pick up the clothes and the mail in no time. He could run by the grocery after work. He proceeded to open the closet and saw a handful of wrinkled button-down shirts, denim pants, and suit jackets. For half a second, he wondered if they were clean or not, but decided to just take them all. Jake said to himself "this will do until the laundry gets done, anyway."

The young man looked over to the opposite side of the room and saw a dresser. He pulled all the mostly empty drawers; grabbed whatever remaining t-shirts and underwear he could find and placed them all on top of his dad's unmade bed. A quick search around the apartment resulted in a duffel bag. He crammed all the 'clean clothes' in the bag and zipped it close. He dragged the two laundry bags and the duffel bag out to the car.

He stuffed the laundry bags in the trunk and placed the duffel bag at the backseat. He came back to grab the mail by the entrance hallway and found the mailbox overflowing with mails. He shut the mailbox close again and went back inside the apartment in search of a container to hold the mails. Jake spotted a good size plastic bag by the desk, spilled the contents out, and took it out with him. He pulled all the mail and stuffed them all in the bag.

A quick check on his watch confirmed that he had spent almost half an hour doing half the chores he set out to do for his dad. He hopped back in the car and was relieved that the parked car in front of him had left. At least he didn't have to spend more time maneuvering out of the parking space. Next stop was Kim's Dry Cleaners, a family-owned business that catered to much of Princeton Plainsboro's college professors and hospital staff. As Jake walked in to the store with 2 huge laundry bags, a middle-aged Korean woman eyed him from head-to-toe.

"Can I help you?"  
"Yes, I got laundry I need done."  
"The Laundromat is two doors down."  
"Oh, but my boss says to drop this off here."  
"Who's your boss?"  
"Dr. Greg House."  
"Oh, you work for Dr. House?"  
Jake said "yes" and placed the two laundry bags on top of the counter. The woman inspected the tags attached to the bags. Up until that moment, Jake didn't even notice those tags.  
The woman explained in broken english "We do laundry for Dr. House only, others dry clean."  
She added "Dr. House, very good." To put emphasis on how she felt, she held out her two thumbs up. She added "Dr. House saved me husband, Jin's life."  
Jake nodded and said "He's a great doctor, one of the best in the world."

"Dr. Cuddy, his boss, said same thing." Nodding and looking very pleased that she knows that piece of information.  
Jake smiled and informed the lady that Dr. Cuddy was his mother.  
"You are Jake? Oh, your mommy talks about you all the time. My son, Kyong is same age as you."

After finding out that Jake was Cuddy's son, he found himself introduced to the entire Kim family. The Kim has a huge extended family; Jake was amazed on how they could all fit in the small backroom. The eldest son, Kyong translated much of the rapid fire Korean that was being spit out by the various relatives. It seemed everyone had an opinion about Dr. House and Dr. Cuddy. Jake smiled broadly at the statement the elder matriarch of the family made about Dr. Cuddy being a much better fit for Dr. House than Ms. Stacy (_he could have sworn he heard her said 'bitch', but Kyong didn't mention it in his translation_).

Jake found out from the Kim family (through Kyong) that House was one of the store's first customers. He and Stacy would often drop their dry cleaning, but then they stop coming. Kyong said that after his dad learned from Dr. Cuddy that Dr. House suffered a leg infarction, his dad started picking up Dr. House's laundry every month. When Dr. House finally went back to work in the hospital, Dr. House started dropping his laundry off instead of his dad picking them up.

Kyong apologized profusely for his family holding Jake hostage; he said that the whole clan "Treats Dr. House like a god because he saved my dad's life. And we love Dr. Cuddy too because she was the one who insisted in making my dad go to the hospital after noticing his shortness of breath."

Jake told him not to worry and said, "I'm very happy to meet your family. You have a very loyal and generous family. Please give your parents my thanks for taking care of Dr. House's laundry all throughout these years." As Jake was leaving, he asked Kyong if they could also press House's button-down shirts. Kyong smiled and said my father asked him all the time Dr. House always said that the 'wrinkle is his signature look'." Jake shook his head and said, "Just do it this one time."  
"Sure, no problem. Dr. House's laundry will be ready by 5PM today."  
When Kyong saw the surprised look in Jake's face, he added, "It's summer vacation, we have more help."  
Jake nodded and promised to be back to pick it up.  
The rest of the morning was spent rushing from the post office and the motor vehicle.

***

After dinner, House and Cuddy came home exhausted.  
As usual, House parked himself in front of the TV.  
Cuddy announced, "I am so tired. I think I'm going to take a warm bath and get ready for bed."  
"Ok, I'm going to watch TV for a while. But if you're up for it, I might have a little surprise for you." House smirked and wagged his eyebrows.  
Cuddy simply rolled her eyes.  
Upon entering her bedroom, she noticed the two huge laundry bags, a duffel bag, and a pile of dry cleaned clothes on top of the bed. She opened the bags and confirmed that they're all House's clothes. Cuddy's heart began to skip, wondering if that was House's surprise.  
She walked back to the living room and sat beside House.  
"That was quick."  
"I saw your surprise." With tears running from her face, she says, "Greg, I'm so happy that you're finally moving-in!"  
"Huh?"


	19. Chapter 19

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

"Greg, I'm so happy that you're finally moving-in!"

"Huh?"

"You are moving-in, right? All your clothes are in the bedroom. That was the surprise, right?" Almost immediately, Cuddy felt her blood rushing to her head as she felt embarrassed and angry at herself.

It took House a few seconds, but he recovered swiftly with "I was thinking more like a chocolate fudge brownie ice cream kindda surprise, but moving-in will be fine too."

"Greg, are you serious? I don't want you to do it just because I assume that you…"

House placed his finger on Cuddy's lips and shushed her.  
"Lise, how long have you known me? Have you ever known me to do anything that I don't want to do?"

Cuddy shook her head and said "No, you've always been a stubborn ass."

"And yet, you still like me."

"You should know by now that I don't just like you, Greg. I love you."

"You're not just saying that because you know I have chocolate fudge brownie ice cream, right?"

"I'm being serious, Greg. Are you committing to this relationship?" Cuddy pointed her finger between them.

House sighed aloud and answered "I work with you all day, and I sleep with you every night. I definitely need to be committed."

Cuddy simply rolled her eyes and walked back to the bedroom. She thought to herself, "This is the most I can get from Greg. He'll never be the guy who will say the right things, but his actions in the past weeks are proving that he's doing all the right things."

A few minutes after Cuddy left the living room, Jake entered the front door.

"Hey Dad."

House looked over to his son and said, "So, what's your evil plan demon spawn #1?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why did you leave all my clothes in your mom's bedroom?"

"Because, I want you to store them in the closet. That's where normal people put their clean clothes."

"You could have taken them back to my place."

"So, you can tell me to go bring them back here again?"

"That's not point."

"I don't know what your point is. You practically live here, so what if your clothes are here?"

"The point is, I have a hormonal woman who after seeing all my clothes in her bedroom immediately jumped into a conclusion that I'm moving-in."

"Did you tell her you're not moving-in?"

"No! Of course not. I may be a bastard, but I'm not suicidal."

"Do you think that I tricked you to agreeing to move-in?"

"Didn't you?

"I asked first."

"I'm your father."

"What's that got to do with it?"

"Nothing, I just like saying it."

***

By the time House entered the bedroom, Cuddy was already fast asleep. He stripped down to his boxers, headed to the bathroom, and brushed his teeth. He looked around the room searching for his bags of clothes, but instead saw the laundry bags neatly folded by the chair. House smiled at the realization that Cuddy already made room for his clothes. He opened her dresser and confirmed that his underwear and socks were now on the top drawer. While his t-shirts were now neatly stacked in the second drawer. He picked up one t-shirt, quickly put it on, and limped back to bed.

At around two in the morning, House felt Cuddy's hand under his shirt as she gently caressed his chest. House sleepily reached out for Cuddy's hand and gave it a squeeze. Then she laid her head over his shoulder and asked, "Are you awake?"

"Hmmm"

"Greg? Do you want the twins to be boys or girls?"

"Lise, it's…" House squinted his eyes as he looked over to the alarm clock and said, "It's two in the morning. Go back to sleep."

Cuddy ignores him and continues, "With twins, we'll need two of everything. And if we turn the guest room to the twins' room, I don't think we can fit two cribs and all the furniture in there. And I'll also need a rocking chair so when I feed and rock them to sleep; we'll probably need to move the rocking chair in our bedroom. Oh, and where will Jake sleep when he comes home during school breaks?"

House groggily replied "Wooah…wooah slow down. First of all, absolutely no rocking chair in our bedroom unless I'm the one being rocked to sleep. Second, how many furniture do two babies need? Third, where is Jake's room now? Didn't the guest room use to be his room?

"Jake's room is up in the attic. It was cool when he was ten-years old and five foot two. Now the low ceiling has become a hazard to his six foot frame."

"Lise, do you want us to get a bigger place?"

Cuddy shifted her position so she's now half-lying on top of House. "Are you okay with that?"

House nodded and said, "As long as we find a room for my piano and we use my big bed in our bedroom. I'm fine with getting a bigger house."

"Ok. And Greg?"

"Yeah?

"Did you really get me some chocolate fudge brownie ice cream?"


	20. Chapter 20

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

The last two weeks flew by quickly as Cuddy juggled work, prenatal appointment, and shopping for a new house. Today in particular, was turning out to be so hectic that she decided to take the entire day off from work.

At 9:30AM, she accompanied Jake to the local courthouse to formally change Jake's last name from 'Cuddy' to 'House'. They turned in all the necessary paperwork a few weeks ago, but because Jake was still a minor, a parent had to accompany him before a judge.

At 11:00AM, she attended her prenatal appointment with Dr. Keeler. It was the first appointment that House missed due to a patient emergency, but Jake was there to go with his mom. Dr. Keeler was very happy with the babies' progress. The sonogram revealed that the shy one moved beside (instead of behind) the other baby. The babies' heartbeats remained strong and they were progressing as expected of 10-week fetuses.

By noon, Cuddy started craving for burgers and fries, so the duo headed to _**"Five Guys"**_ for lunch. Afterwards, they met with Angela, the realtor to view three prospective houses. Both Cuddy and Jake decided that House's presence would no longer be required for house hunting activities until they have narrowed down the selection to their top two picks. Aside from making the last realtor quit with tears, they felt that the strenuous walking required going through houses was negatively affecting both his leg and his disposition.

The first house they visited for the afternoon was a five-bedroom rancher style house. It's had an open floor plan, beautiful modern kitchen, three fireplaces, good-sized rooms, and a palatial master bedroom. The house was on a five-acre lot with plenty of room to grow—should the family decide to add a pool in the backyard later. Cuddy liked the house but thought the 45-minute commute to work was a deal breaker.

The second one they saw was a four-bedroom split-level house. Angela assured Cuddy that the house would be accessible to Greg since it had built-in stair lifts. It had a three-car garage, two fireplaces, and two of the bedrooms (including the master suite) were on the main level. The two other bedrooms were on the second level. Finally, the finished basement was equipped with a state of the art home theater. Jake loved the house because it had all the bells and whistles that he and his dad would enjoy. Cuddy was not thrilled about the outdated kitchen and thought that Greg might frown upon the stair lifts. Although, Greg's leg posed a tremendous limitation for him, it didn't mean that he'd like a permanent reminder of his disability. Cuddy put the house on the list of houses for Greg to see.

The last and final house they visited was a 5,000 sq. ft. estate overlooking the Princeton campus. It was originally built to serve as residence for winners of the Ted Tisch Executive Scholarship Program as they attend the nearby MBA School. The estate was surrounded by acres of land donated by Mr. Tisch to the university for the purpose of conservation. Mr. Tisch, an eccentric multi-millionaire dreamed of making Princeton the center of business knowledge and believed that the creation of a world-class residential complex would attract the best candidate to Princeton's MBA program.

He spared no expense in the construction of the house. However, his untimely death and his feuding heirs led to the impending sale of the estate. The house had never been lived-in and boasted its own elevator. It featured a two-story foyer entrance, a formal dining room, and a formal living room. It also showcased a large gourmet eat-in kitchen, a family room with fireplace, and a bonus room that could serve as a study/library. There were two bedrooms (including the master suite) on the main level. The master suite had a fireplace. The master bath had a Jacuzzi bathtub and an accessible shower stall. Three additional bedrooms were on the second floor. Unfortunately, the intended home theater in the basement was only half-complete as the Tisch heirs simply refused to 'dump any more money to the old man's fantasy.'

After touring the place, both mother and son agreed that the third house was the right one for them. Cuddy asked Angela if she'd be available to show the place again that night for Greg. Angela agreed and informed her that the house would not be officially listed until tomorrow; she was given special permission by Mrs. Tisch, the widow, after she found out that Dr. Cuddy was in the market for a house. Mrs. Tisch had been a long time benefactor of PPTH and was hoping that her husband's dream home remained a residence and not bulldozed to make room for a retail store.

***

House was in the middle of a conversation with Wilson about a patient when his cell phone rang. A quick look at the caller id informed him that Cuddy was on the other line, so he answered it.  
"Hi Greg"  
"Hey"  
"Greg, you wouldn't believe what happened this morning?"  
"Hmm…"  
"The babies are now side by side. They must have moved recently since the shy one was still behind the other baby when you did the sonogram the other night, right? Anyway, they look so cute and you should have seen Jake's reaction to the babies." Cuddy just went on and on about the babies' heartbeat and how Dr. Keeler was very pleased with the babies.

House didn't want to interrupt Cuddy to tell her that he couldn't talk at the moment because she was simply bubbling with excitement about the news. A big part of him also wanted to hear the latest news. He regretted missing the appointment, but he reassured himself that he could check the babies tonight.

After not hearing a peep from House other than an occasional hmmm, a very annoyed Cuddy told House "Well, try and contain your excitement there. It's not like I'm talking about anything important. I know there's nothing more important to you than your patient."

Cuddy's word cut through him like a knife and House immediately replied "Lise, that is not true and you know it."

Cuddy didn't mean to accuse him of not caring about the babies; she knew that he did care about them a lot. Sometimes, he just made her so mad that she couldn't help but lash out at him. However, a much shaken House immediately stood up and told Wilson "I need to take this," pointing at his phone. Without waiting for Wilson to reply or even to be away from earshot, House said "Lise, listen to me. Wilson was in my office and I couldn't just blurt out 'how happy I am that our babies are doing great'."

It didn't take long before the two made up and made plans to meet up after work to check on the "must-see" House (_both upper case & lower case_).

When Wilson returned to House's office, he asked, "I didn't even know you were seeing someone. So, she's with a baby?"

"Babies." House corrected Wilson and added, "My girlfriend and I are expecting twins."

"Wooah…are you okay about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just never took you for the father type."

House smirked and said "You'll never know until you try."


	21. Chapter 21

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

The Tisch real estate property somehow never made it to the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service (NJMLS) after Cuddy and House made a formal offer on the house at around 8PM.

_After initially seeing the house, Cuddy immediately called Mrs. Tisch to personally thank her for showing her beautiful house prior to listing it to the public. Mrs. Tisch informed her that the house was her husband's dream and she'd be delighted if it was purchased by someone who would take care of it. They chatted quite a bit reminiscing of the late Mr. Tisch. Later in the conversation, Mrs. Tisch asked why the Dean of Medicine needs such a large house. Cuddy revealed that aside from a sixteen-year-old son, she and her partner were also expecting twins. Mrs. Tisch was very delighted to hear the news about the babies. She revealed to Cuddy that she didn't have any grandchildren; none of her four children seem to be interested in having one anytime soon.  
_  
By eight the following morning, Cuddy received a fax from Angela that the Tisch clan had accepted their full offer. Angela mentioned that Mrs. Tisch apparently made sure that all her feuding progenies accepted the Cuddy-House offer by threatening disinheritance if they objected.  
After hearing the news, Cuddy called Mrs. Tisch to again express her thanks. Afterwards, she made arrangements for a home inspection and for the previous construction crew to resume work on finishing the basement.

At around nine, Cuddy was on full administrative mode ordering the legal department to ensure that they follow-up on Dr. Chase's H1-B visa application with the Labor Department, she arranged for maintenance to check the toilet problem on the third floor, and yelled at a resident for showing up drunk to an on-call page. In between those tasks, she also found time to convince three donors to contribute generously towards the expansion of the new Diagnostic Department.

By eleven, Cuddy did her usual hospital rounds and noticed that she's been getting a lot of stares on her bump. Thank god, no one has dared to ask if she was pregnant. She didn't really mind the stares but she was just not ready to answer the question yet. She and Greg agreed that she would inform the Board about her condition after her first trimester (_which will be in about two weeks_). She was planning on holding off wearing maternity dresses until then, but having twins accelerated the process. She has been showing quite a round bump since week 7, and making sure she wore her lab coat at all times was no longer effective. She mentally made a note to buy a new lab coat and maternity dresses after work.

She dropped off a package filled with documents on House's desk and asked Jake to make sure that his dad signed all the forms. The entire brood was traveling to Boston over the weekend to finalize a few things for Jake's impending move for med school. Now that Jake has legally changed his last name to House, but is still a minor, both parents had to sign every document and waiver forms that Harvard Medical School required.

Cuddy was still talking to Jake when House walked-in to his office. He immediately signaled for Jake not to say anything to his mother. House quietly snuck up on Cuddy. He nuzzled behind her with both hands on her very rounded bump and his mouth on her neck.  
"Oh my god! Are you trying to kill me?" Cuddy yelled at House and glared at Jake for not giving her at least a hint of what was coming.  
"No, just wanted to make sure if your pulse is still okay." House replied quickly.  
Cuddy turned around to face House and rolled her eyes.  
"So, why are you in my office? Did you miss me already?"  
"No. You're late again." Cuddy dismissed House's attempt of flirting.  
"Your mouth says no but your body says yes. Will I be getting that special wake-up call every morning?" House asked Cuddy while wagging his brows suggestively.  
Cuddy's face turned red as she remembered what she had done to wake Greg up this morning.  
Jake groaned loudly and told his parents to cut it out before he starts puking.

***

Wilson popped his head in House's office door and said, "Hey, got anything planned for the weekend?"  
House nodded to acknowledge Wilson and replied, "Yeah, we're flying to Boston for the weekend."  
"Is it a romantic weekend with the girlfriend?"  
"Nope. Just some family stuff."  
"Oh, ok. Are you meeting her family?"  
"No, I already met her mother years ago."  
"Hmmm… Anyway, Julie and I would love to invite you and your girlfriend over for dinner. Maybe next weekend?"  
"Sure, if you help me pack, move, and unpack my stuff."  
"You're moving-in with her?"  
"Technically, I already moved-in with her a couple of months ago. My stuff on the other hand, needs to be moved to our new house."  
"Did you just say new house?"  
"Yeah, we just bought a new house yesterday, closing will be next week."  
"Congratulations! Wow! You are simply full of surprises."  
"Yeah, whatever."  
"I can't wait to meet this girl. After Stacy, I didn't think I'd ever see you happy again."  
House simply smiled and waved Wilson off "Go! I need to work before our gargantuan boss yells at me again."  
Wilson simply shook his head in disbelief at how House described their boss. "Gargantuan. Dr. Cuddy is far from big. Maybe she has been gaining a few pounds lately ...Is she? Naah...that's just 'House being House'."

***

House, Cuddy, and Jake took the 3:40PM flight from Newark to Boston on Thursday afternoon. Because of her frequent trips to the bathroom, Cuddy grabbed the aisle seat and House was stuck with the window seat. He could have switched seats with Jake but that would mean he would be seated a few rows away from Cuddy. Ever since he found out that Cuddy was expecting his child again, House has been very protective of her. He just liked to be near her all the time, touching her belly, hugging her close to him, and kissing her everywhere. It was an impulse that he has recently developed and tried to keep in check at work.

The flight took about an hour and they were able to pick up a rental car and check-in to their hotel by six. The trio drove downtown and had dinner at a local restaurant around Charles St in Beacon Hill. Instead of walking back to their car, the trio decided to take stroll by Louisburg Square. Cuddy started reminiscing about her time in Boston when she was still in med school. She pointed out places and parks that she used to take Jake as a baby. House was very quiet the entire time Cuddy was recollecting her experiences, mostly because he wanted to hear what he had missed.

It was unusually cold for a late summer night, so House had his arms around Cuddy to keep her warm. Jake caught his parents kissing and getting lost in each other's eyes several times during their stroll. He thought to himself, "I have never seen anyone who's totally into each other, and yet so incapable of expressing their feelings to each other."

While Jake went over by the side of the road to watch a group of streets performers, he overheard his father say, "Lise, the light behind you is making you glow. You look radiant."  
Jake thought, "Wow, that's actually romantic coming from dad."  
Cuddy smiled and said, "I think it's what they refer to as pregnancy glow?"  
House pointed over Cuddy's shoulder and said, "I'm serious. There's a fire-eater performing behind you."  
Cuddy turned around and felt the fire inches away from her. She immediately moved away from the street performer, and smacked House's arms really hard.  
"Ouch, what was that for?"  
"That's for making me think that you were actually saying something nice."  
"I don't do nice. However, if you wear the naughty negligee I bought you, I'll definitely do you."  
Cuddy pulled House close and whispered "In your dreams, big boy."  
The two began laughing and exchanged gentle kisses.  
Jake saw the banters between his parents and couldn't help but snort. He honestly didn't know what to make of them, "Maybe, that's what finding THE ONE means. Someone to bicker with over nothing, someone to kiss for no reason, and someone to share a laugh with for the rest of your life.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

_**Friday Morning**_

After seeing House dressed in his usual blue jeans, t-shirt, blazer, and running shoes, Cuddy asked him "Where do you think you're going dressed in that?"  
"I'm going to my son's appointment with his Dean and I'm dressed in my work's best."  
"Greg, please wear the suit I brought for you."  
"I don't wanna. I look like a dork."  
"You don't look like a dork."  
"Our son is one of the smartest kids in the country; we don't need to impress his Dean. The Dean needs to impress us, if his school will be good enough for our son."  
"Greg, if you wear your suit and behave this morning, I'll do the dance thing for you."  
House's eyes grew wide and grinned at Cuddy "No, I want you to do a striptease for me wearing a schoolgirl outfit."  
"No, I'm not buying a schoolgirl outfit just so you can get your rocks off. I'll give you a lap dance wearing one of my nightgowns."  
"A lap dance and a striptease wearing the negligee I gave you from Frederick's."  
"Greg, have you completely lost your mind? I'm almost 11-weeks pregnant with twins, how do you suppose I can fit in that negligee?"  
"A lap dance and a striptease, wearing a yet to be determined sexy piece of clothing that's mutually approved by you and me."  
Cuddy nodded and said, "Deal. Go change" as she handed him the suit.  
When Cuddy came back from the bathroom, House was wearing a dark suit, blue button-down shirt without a tie and his Nike Shox shoes.  
"Where's your tie and dress shoes?"  
"Sorry, the deal only covers me wearing a suit. You didn't mention anything about wearing a tie or dress shoes."  
"Fine! Why don't you just stay here by yourself and make our life easier?"  
House was a bit surprised by Cuddy's outburst and replied, "You're no fun." He quietly put on his dress shoes, and placed the tie in his pocket.

***

Jake knew that something was up when his mom handed him the direction and headed straight to the backseat of the car. House was trying to give Cuddy an "I'm sorry" look but she just refused to make eye contact with him. The drive was eerily quiet as Jake read the directions to his dad. After House parked the car, he limped over to Cuddy's side and in low tone whispered "I'm sorry, Lise."  
She looked at him straight in the eye and replied, "Put on your tie."  
House took the tie out of his pocket and made an effort of fiddling with it."  
Cuddy took a deep breath and stopped walking to help House put on his tie.

Jake initially stopped to wait for his parents, but changed his mind and walked over to where they're standing. He addressed his parents and said "Mom, Dad, I don't know what's going on between you two this morning. I just want you to know that I appreciate you both coming here with me. This really means a lot to me and I want you two to promise that you won't do anything to jeopardize my med school experience for the next four years." Jake ended his mini-speech with a puppy-eye look to both his parents.

Cuddy smiled, patted her son on his cheek and said "of course, hon."  
Jake looked at his father to get the same confirmation.  
"Oh don't worry, I intend to cash in on that lap dance your mom promised me" House said with a smug grin on his face.  
Cuddy simply rolled her eyes and Jake heaved a loud groan.

***

Dr. Martin, the Dean of Medicine for the Harvard Medical School (HMS) warmly greeted them by the entrance of his office.  
"It's so good to see you again, Lisa."  
"It's good to see you too, Mike. How are Brooke and the girls?"  
"They're doing great. The twins will be in seventh grade this fall. Can you believe it?"  
"I know, they do grow up so quickly" Cuddy replied and almost instinctively touched her belly.  
Dr. Martin glanced over Lisa's shoulder and introduced himself to House and Jake.

"Dr. House, it is truly an honor to finally meet you. "Your 'Diagnostic: Thinking out of the box' book is still a required reading for all our Diagnostic 101 students."  
House simply nodded.  
Dr. Martin extended his hands to Jake "And you must be Jake, I've seen your work and I think Harvard is just the perfect challenge for you."

In the next twenty-minutes or so, Dr. Martin discussed the myriad of academic options available for Jake.  
House interjected "What if the curriculum is too easy for him?"  
Dr. Martin smiled and replied, "If after the fall semester and Jake finds the courses not challenging enough, we can make arrangements for an accelerated course program."

"By the way, Jake might be interested to know that Dr. Church, who teaches Genetics both here and at MIT, will be leading a new project on Personal Genome. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to have one of Dr. Coulier's prodigies in his team."  
Jake's eyes lit up and said, "I would love to meet him."  
Dr. Martin replied, "I think that can be arranged. Of course, you'll also have the opportunity to meet other faculty members at the orientation this afternoon."

So far, House was impressed by Dr. Martin's knowledge of his son's achievements. He was extremely pleased that Jake was seen as his own man (_and not the son of the renowned Diagnostician or the Dean of Medicine_).

Jake asked if his age would be an issue in obtaining full medical training.  
Dr. Martin addressed Jake's concern "You'll be at least 17 when you begin practicum, so I wouldn't be concerned. Besides, your mom mentioned that you've been interning for Dr. House this summer. I think your work with Dr. Coulier and Dr. House, you'll be more prepared than most of your peers."

Cuddy interjected "Speaking of age, will it be practical for Jake to live off-campus?"  
Dr. Martin received inquiries about this topic from both House and Cuddy; he sensed that this was a topic of contention between the couple so he treaded on his response lightly "We encourage all our underage students to live on campus. In fact, all incoming freshmen in the undergraduate program are required to live in one of five freshman's dorm on campus. We in HMS don't have any official policy on student's living arrangements. We've only had three minors attend HMS and all of them had a parent lived with them."

"Can I assume that Dr. House and/or you are not moving to Boston for Jake?"  
"No, we're not" Lisa replied with a hint of guilt.  
"Is Jake an emancipated minor?"  
House, Cuddy, and Jake all shook their heads simultaneously.

Dr. Martin addressed House and Cuddy "Legally speaking, the state of Massachusetts looks to parents to make decisions for their child or you can give your consent to your child's decision."

He then look over to Jake and said "It is my understanding that you've live in a dormitory-style housing when you were in Cambridge; am I correct in assuming that you want to live off-campus to experience apartment living?"

Jake nodded at Dr. Martin's question and added, "I would like to have a bigger space with private bath and maybe a kitchen? I like a place where I'll have enough space to invite family and friends over."

"Well, we might have a compromise for you. The Shattuck house is within a ten minute walking distance of the school; it has one and two-bedroom apartments that have private kitchens and baths."

Cuddy inquired, "Is this the med school dorm?"  
Dr. Martin shook his head and replied, "No, I don't think Jake will like Vanderbilt Hall. The Vandy Hall as the kids call it, only has single rooms with shared bathrooms."

After their meeting with Dr. Martin, the trio took a quick tour of an available two-bedroom apartment at the Shattuck house. Jake found the place clean, roomy, and conveniently furnished. Cuddy liked the fact that laundry, gym, and maintenance were available on-site. House was about to complain about the cost of the rent when Cuddy shot him a dagger look.

The three grabbed a quick lunch at a nearby sandwich shop and headed back to campus for the orientation tour.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

Saturday morning, the trio headed to the campus of MIT. While Jake met with his PhD adviser, House and Cuddy took a stroll by the Charles River. It was a beautiful sunny day and Cuddy was once again feeling nostalgic about the beantown.  
"Did you know that Jake and I lived here for almost seven years?"  
"Really? I didn't know you did your residency here too. Where?"  
"At Mass General. Can you believe the number of hours they made residents work?"  
House smirked and asked "How did you deal with long hours and a kid?"  
"I don't think I could have made it without mom. While I was still in med school and in residency training, she passed up several promotions to stay in the field office."  
"Was she with the State Department then?"  
"Yes, they used to have a field office that handles passport, visas, and stuff. It was down by Faneuil Hall; Jake used to love it when we swung by Quincy market when we visited mom's office."

"Lise?"  
"Yeah?"  
"So, what's the plan with the spawn twins? Are we hiring an au pair? Are you quitting your job and be a full-time **House**wife?"  
Cuddy rolled her eyes and decided to play along "Mom's retired; she'll be available to help us with the babies. And we have enough rooms in our new home, right?"  
House just about choked on his own saliva "Are you serious?"  
"Why not? She did a great job raising me and she practically raised our son."  
The expression on House's face was just too much for Cuddy to take, she began cracking up in laughter. "Relax, I'm just kidding. I think we should put them in the hospital's daycare. We can keep a close eye on them and visit them any time."  
House gave a huge sigh of relief and said "Sounds like a plan."  
"Greg, you do know that whether we like it or not, no one can stop Emma Cuddy from visiting her grandchildren, right?"  
"Hmm…maybe I should keep my place. Just in case, Emma decides to take over our place."

***

_**The Following Week -- Her Place  
**_  
Cuddy began packing shortly after she found out that they got the new house. Since she gets tired a lot quicker, she does a little bit at a time. She developed a system of sorts, where she plans which room she will be tackling for the day. She made labels that neatly identifies the various rooms in their new house and writes instructions for Jake if she needs any help in lifting heavy items.

By Friday evening, Cuddy and Jake had pretty much completed packing everything except the kitchen items. Jake emptied all the kitchen cabinets and brought all its contents over to the dining area. Cuddy sorted through the items and individually covered them with bubble wrap. After she filled up the box, she sealed it with a tape, wrote the contents on top of the box, and stuck the labels on both sides of the box so the movers could easily see them. If the boxes contained breakable items, she put an extra red FRAGILE sticker on them.

Jake looked over to where his mom was meticulously wrapping the plates and asked "What time are the movers coming tomorrow?"  
"They'll be here at seven in the morning. They'll load all of these; unload them at our new place and head off to your dad's place."  
"Are the same movers who are picking up our stuff and dad's stuff moving the piano?"  
"No, the piano movers will be at your dad's place by nine. Hopefully, they'll be finished before the regular movers comes and picks up your dad's stuff."  
He looked at his watch and confirmed that it was almost ten. "Is dad coming home tonight?"  
"No, he's staying at his place to finish packing. Wilson is helping him pack."  
"Ok. Do you still need my help on anything?"  
"No, I'm almost done here. Thanks for all your help, Jake. Go ahead and get some rest, tomorrow will be a crazy day.  
_**  
His Place  
**_  
Wilson arrived at House's place on Friday night around seven. He looked at the living room and noticed immediately that it hasn't been touched. He sighed aloud and prepared himself for a long night. But as he walked around and surveyed the rest of the apartment, he realized it wasn't as bad as he initially thought. House finished packing everything except the living room.

Wilson could tell that House was exhausted, so he did all of the packing and moving of the boxes himself.  
"So, are you picking up the moving truck tomorrow morning?"  
"No. Lise hired movers to come get our stuff and deliver them to our place."  
"Liz? Is that your mysterious girlfriend's name."  
"No, her name is Trixie. I just like calling people I'm in a relationship with by their other name."  
Wilson simply rolled his eyes and continued shoving more books in the box.

House limped over to the boxes that Wilson stacked and began sticking labels on them."  
"Are you sticking labels on the boxes?"  
"Duh. Thanks captain obvious."  
Wilson grinned and said, "Man, you really got it bad."  
"No, it's just common sense. The movers need to know where to put them in our new place" House said defensively.  
Wilson laughed, "Right. And you just happen to run out of marker pens?"  
House rolled his eyes and announced, "I'm hungry. Want some Chinese food?"

***

_**Our Place  
**_  
The movers arrived at Cuddy's place at exactly seven o'clock. They went through all the boxes and furniture in no time. By nine o'clock, the 26-foot truck was filled to capacity. Jake and Cuddy locked-up their old place and headed off to meet the movers at their new place.

While Cuddy was opening the front door, she saw a note wedged in between the door and the frame. She opened the envelope, read it and smiled. After she heard Jake entering the front door, she immediately tucked the note in her pocket.  
Within minutes, the moving crew parked the truck in the driveway and began unloading.  
Pete, the crew leader checked to make sure that everything that he had inventoried into the truck were accounted for and off-loaded.

Cuddy directed the movers where to put all the furniture, while Jake pointed where the various rooms were as labeled on the boxes. With the same precision it took to load all the items, the crew wasted no time unloading them as well. By eleven-thirty, Pete told Cuddy that his crew is off to lunch. He promised to have his team at House's place by one o'clock. Just as Pete's crew pulled off, the piano movers pulled up the driveway.

Jake stood in awe of his mom's scheduling and organization skills. He was simply amazed at how she could organize the move to the last detail, run a hospital, be a mother to him, an incubator to twins, and a lover/partner to his dad. She definitely typified what people referred to as "Super Mom".

After the piano was put to its proper nook in the living room and the movers left, Jake sat down and played the hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah. Cuddy smiled at her son and couldn't help but see a replica of his father. She thought to herself "Jake is indeed a younger, kinder, and gentler House—what Greg would have been if fate hasn't dealt him a bad hand." Jake looked up and smirked at how his mom was gazing at him; it's the same look she gives him when she tells him that he is his father's son.

Before Jake finished his mini-piano recital, Cuddy's cell phone rang. House wanted to know if his piano arrived safely, what time the movers were coming to his place, and if she can bring him something for lunch. Cuddy informed him that the piano arrived safely and his son already had a mini-concerto, the movers will be by his place at around one, and she'll pick up lunch on the way to his place.

Cuddy asked if Wilson was still with him and House replied "no". He informed Cuddy that they pulled an all-nighter and didn't finish until about three in the morning. House of course, conveniently forgot to mention that they took a long break in between to eat dinner and watch TV.  
"That wuss is probably still sleeping in his warm comfy bed, while I conked out on the floor."  
"You slept on the floor?"  
"Yeah, we disassembled the bed last night."  
"Ok, we'll be there in half an hour."  
"Lise, did you get your **House**_warming_ gift?"  
"Yes, thank you and..."  
"And what ???"


	24. Chapter 24

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

"Lise, did you get your **House**_warming_ gift?"  
"Yes, thank you and..."  
"And what?"  
"I love it. I think Mom and I will definitely enjoy it."  
Cuddy reached for the note that House had wedge by the door.

Dear Lisa,

I don't know what I've done to deserve you. Maybe, it's my virile sperm that keeps you coming back for more or it could just be my charming personality. Either way, it's been a hectic month for you and you deserve a break.

I've booked an all-inclusive spa vacation at Ocean Place Resort & Spa. Take the next weekend off and bring your Mother with you.

-Greg

P.S.  
You didn't actually think I'm going to let you drag me to this fufu place and put gunk on my face, did you?

***

_**The Following Week  
**_  
Wilson popped his head in House's office and asked, "So, are we on for this weekend?"  
"No can do. You didn't fulfill your end of the bargain, so the deal is off."  
"What do you mean I didn't? I stayed up until three in morning to help you pack."  
"The deal was you help me pack, move, and unpack. You didn't help me unpack so the deal is off."  
"How can I help you unpack when I don't even know where your new place is? In case you forgot, you haven't invited me over yet."  
"Oh, did I hurt little Jimmy's feeling? Saturday, my place and bring lots of beer."

***

Cuddy and her mom just got back from their relaxing full body massages and they both felt like giant marshmallows.  
"I could get used to this" Cuddy declared as she slumped down on her bed.  
"I know. It was really thoughtful of Greg to give us this vacation."  
"The wonder that is Greg. I've known him half my life and still he never ceases to surprise me."  
"If you were surprised, just imagine how I felt when he called me."  
"He told you about this trip?"  
"Yes, he called and asked if I was available for a getaway weekend with my girl."  
Cuddy couldn't help but smile "I really needed this break. The last few weeks has just been crazy— with work, buying a new house, being pregnant with twins, Jake moving away for med school, and of course, this entire thing with Greg.  
"Lisa, you two seem to be getting very serious, with the new house, and the twins. Did he say the L-word yet?"  
"Mom, this is Greg we're talking about. He'll never say the right word, but he's been doing all the right things."  
Emma smiled and asked, "Are you happy?"  
"I am. I don't think I've ever been happier, Mom. I feel very blessed."  
Emma placed her hand in Lisa's and said, "That's all that matters."  
"Thank you, Mom."  
"How's Jake taking this? I mean, Greg, the twins, and med school?"  
"He's doing great. He loves working with Greg and he's very excited about the twins. Last weekend, we actually flew up to Boston and visited our old stomping ground.  
"Good. Did you let him get his own apartment off campus?"  
"Sortta. We got him a two-bedroom apartment, it's the closest one run by Harvard. I honestly don't know if we made the right decision."  
"He's a good kid, Lisa. I'm sure he'll do great." Emma teased Cuddy further "I'm not so sure for how long though, if he continues hanging around Greg."  
"Actually, the boys promise to finish unpacking and start painting the nursery this weekend."

***

As Wilson pulled up House's driveway, he couldn't help but be impressed by its location.  
There was something magical about how it was discreetly hidden away in a secret corner of Princeton.

By the time Wilson got off his car, House was already waiting for him by the front porch.  
"This is some property you got here. I wouldn't have known this place existed unless I followed your directions."  
"Yeah. Some rich dude built it, he died, and his kids didn't want anything to do with it. They sold it, we bought it."  
"Just like that?"  
"Well, I'm sure there's more to it, but Lise took care of all the details."

"I can't wait to finally meet her."  
"Oh, did I forget to tell you? She's away with her mom for a spa weekend."  
"You tricked me! You purposely didn't tell me because you knew that I wouldn't come if she was not here. You know that I want to meet Liz."  
"No, I didn't tell you because it's irrelevant. You are here to fulfill your end of the bargain, period. So where's the beer?"

Wilson rolled his eyes and raised the brown bag to House's eye level.  
"Good. Give it to Jake so he can put it in the fridge."  
"You recruited your intern to help you unpack too?"  
"Why not? He's family."  
"Of course, I always forget that one big, happy diagnostic department family you run."  
"Oh snap. You're just jealous because no one in your department will do anything for you."

Jake walked over to get the beer from Wilson and greeted him "Hey Dr. Wilson."  
"Hey Jake, it's good to see you. I'm sorry you got drag into unpacking duties too."  
"No problem. I'm actually on home theater setup duties now."

As Wilson entered the family room, "Holy shit! House, did you get a plasma TV?"  
"Lise got it for me as my **House**_warming_ gift. Ain't it cool?"  
"Wow! I've never met your girlfriend, but I think I'm in love with her."

As Jake chuckled at Wilson's reaction, Wilson turned to Jake and asked, "Have you met Liz?"  
Jake nodded.  
Wilson gave House an appalled look and hollered "He met her before I did!"  
Both Jake and House began laughing hysterically at Wilson's response.

***

When Jake finished setting-up the home theater system in the family room, he popped his head in House's study room.  
He sees his dad twiddling with his cane and Wilson shelving books on the shelf.  
"Hey, I'm done setting it up. Wanna come and check it out?"

Wilson replies, "Sure, I have a few more books and I will be done."  
House didn't respond but was out the door in a matter of seconds.  
Jake felt a little embarrassed by his dad's action and decided to stay with Wilson.  
"Need help?" Jake offers Wilson.  
"Yeah, if you can take that one box over there, we should be finished in no time."  
"Ok" Jake opened the last box and started shelving the stack of medical journals.

"So, House's girlfriend? Is she a blond or a brunette?  
"Brunette."  
"I knew it. He always goes for the brunette. Probably, a Stacy-clone?"  
Jake gave Wilson a puzzled look.  
Wilson added, "House's ex. You know what they say, if you can't have the one you like, you go with the closest one."  
Jake quickly replied, "Maybe, Stacy is the closest proximity to his former girlfriend. As you said, he can't have THE ONE, so he got the closest one. Now, he's actually with THE ONE.  
Wilson tried to decipher what Jake just said, but a yelling House interrupted his thoughts.


	25. Chapter 25

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

As Wilson and Jake joined House in the family room, Wilson noticed two black consoles over by the coffee table.  
"Are those PlayStation 2 consoles? Did she get you a PlayStation 2 too?  
"Well, technically it belongs to boy wonder over there" House points to Jake. "I'm just giving it a test drive."  
"How come he gets gifts?"  
"He helped Lise packed her stuff, and after he's done slacking off here, he'll start painting the nursery room too."  
"I helped you pack and unpack. Do I get anything?"  
"Yeah, you get the pleasure of my company" House replied with a grin on his face.

Wilson asked "Shouldn't we be helping Jake?"  
House replied, "He'll be fine. He's young and strong as an ox" and handed Wilson a beer.  
House was flipping channels like a maniac until he came across _**The Black Adder**_ marathon on BBC America. Wilson was a little bit tired from unpacking so he decided he'd rest for a few minutes. He ended up watching about four episodes, then his guilt & hero complex kicked in.  
"I'm gonna go and help Jake."  
"Go, suit yourself."  
"Where's the nursery room?"  
House half-hazardly pointed behind him towards the kitchen.

Wilson walked past the kitchen, through the hallway and tried to guess which of the four doors the nursery room was. The second door on the right was slightly open so he took a quick peek. He immediately spotted Jake dressed in old sweatpants, torn band t-shirt, and a baseball cap. Wilson wondered, "Did he bring a change of clothes with him? I don't remember him wearing that earlier."

Wilson said, "Hey" but got no response. He moved a little closer and realized that Jake has his iPod on. Wilson waved his hands and got Jake's attention.  
"Hi, I'm sorry. How long have you been standing there?"  
"No, not that long. I was going to volunteer my services, but I can see that you're almost done."

Wilson looked around and observed that Jake has covered the entire floor with drop cloths. He also meticulously placed painter's masking tape around the edges and the bottom half of the room. Wilson noticed that Jake painted the upper half of the room with at least two coats of soft yellow color but left the bottom part untouched.  
"Do they know the gender of the babies yet?"  
"Nope. I think yellow and white are pretty gender neutral, don't you think?"  
"Yeah, it's very soothing and calming too."

"Well, I'm almost done here. I just need to clean up and take the tapes off.  
"This is a pretty good size room and you went through it real quick."  
Jake snorted and said, "It's a mind-numbing task. I wanted the painting done before mm…Liz comes back. The paint fumes aren't really good for her and the babies."  
"That's awfully nice of you, Jake. By the way, are you leaving the bottom half unpainted?"  
"Yeah, the deal was I paint the room and dd…Dr. House does the wainscoting."  
"Knowing House, he'll find a way to get out of doing that too."

Jake simply shrugged his shoulder. "So, did he give you the grand tour of the house yet?"  
"Are you kidding me? House has been glued to that sofa since you set up the TV."  
"Well, I need to let the paint dry before I can peel the tape. Would you like me to give you a tour?"  
"That will be great, thanks."

"This is the nursery. It's one of two bedrooms on the main floor. There's a large size closet for all their fabulous outfits and the bathroom for their not so fabulous you know what…" Jake doing his best Robin Leach imitation. "And across from the nursery room is the laundry/mud room, which also leads to the garage. And at the end of hall is the master bedroom." As they entered the master bedroom, Wilson noticed familiar furniture such as House's huge bed, his drawer chest, his nightstand, his chaise lounge, and his TV. Intermixed with them were a dresser, another drawer chest, a bench, and a semainier that he assumed were Liz's. On the other side of the bed was a see-thru double-sided fireplace, which Jake pointed out "heats both the bedroom and the master bath."  
At the far side of the room was a 'his and her walk-in closet' with dressing area. Wilson noticed the rows of business suits and expensive high heels. He concluded that Liz must be a high-powered executive (_or maybe a lawyer like Stacy_). Wilson thought to himself "House couldn't afford this place on his salary alone, does he earn more than me? Well, he doesn't pay two alimonies like me maybe he can afford it. No, she probably earns the same or more than him."

Jake took Wilson up to the second floor and showed him three more bedroom and two baths. Wilson commented on how the two bedrooms were already furnished. Jake replied that one room was furnished with her old bed and the other is furnished with her old guest bedroom furniture. They never went down to the basement since it was only half-finished.  
"Thanks for the tour, Jake. You probably know more about this place than House."  
Jake smiled and added, "Yeah, I practically live here."  
By the time they came back from their mini-tour, Wilson decided to help Jake clean up and remove the masking tapes from the wall.

"Hey, do guys want pizza, Chinese or Indian for dinner?" House yelled.  
Jake looked at Wilson and asked, "Do you mind Indian?"  
Wilson nodded to say Indian was fine with him.  
Jake yells back at his dad, "We'll have Indian food, please."

The three spent the rest of the night eating, watching TV, playing video games, and watching more TV. They could have broken the Guinness world record for the longest time spent sitting on the couch if Wilson's wife didn't call for him to come home.  
"So, wanna come over for dinner tomorrow?"  
"Why? So you can get me to do the wainscotings in the nursery room?"  
"Of course not! I don't trust you with a screwdriver, much less a pneumatic nail gun."  
"Then, why would you want me to come over tomorrow?"  
"Because, Lise will be back tomorrow and I just thought you'd want to finally meet her."  
Wilson eyed House suspiciously and said "Julie has her book club on Sunday nights. I guess, I can come over for dinner."  
"Good. We'll see you then."

After Wilson pulled out of the driveway, Jake stood next to his dad and asked, "Are you going ask him to help you do the wainscotings tomorrow?"  
"Hell no! Wilson can't get a picture to hang straight even if his life depended on it."  
"So, you are actually going to install the wainscotings yourself?"  
"Of course not! One of the guys whom your mom hired to finish the basement will be here tomorrow morning to install them for me. It's quick work and easy money for him, meanwhile, I get brownie points from your mom."  
"Are you really letting Wilson meet mom or have you cooked up another plan?"  
"Yeah, why not? Your mom plans to inform the Board about her pregnancy on Monday. Wilson just became a member of the board last week, your mom needs all the support she can get."  
"So, you're inviting him to lobby for his support."  
House smirked and replied "Of course. It has absolutely nothing to do with your grandmother being here."


	26. Chapter 26

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

_**Sunday Night  
**_  
Wilson pulled up at House's driveway around 6:30PM. He knew that Liz was pregnant so instead of wine, he brought a bouquet of flower. House opened the door and smirked at Wilson.  
"Just so we're clear. You're here to meet the mother of my children, not to take her on a blind date."  
"Sorry, I didn't know what to bring a pregnant woman."  
House simply rolled his eyes.

As the two walked past the living room towards the kitchen, Wilson sees Emma in the kitchen.  
Like Lisa, Emma has dark hair, blue eyes, and porcelain skin. She looked about ten years younger than her age and often mistaken as Lisa's older sister instead of her Mom.  
House grabbed a handful of mini quiche from the counter and started munching on them. And with his mouth full, he introduced Wilson and limped over to the family room. Emma has the kitchen exhaust fan on, so both she and Wilson could barely hear each other. Wilson handed Emma the bouquet of flower. She gave him a big smile, smelled the flowers, and mouthed "thank you." She waved for Wilson to sit down in the family room and yelled "food will be ready in ten minutes."

Wilson sat next to House in the couch and said, "She seems nice."  
House simply grunted and continued watching TV.  
"Is it just the three of us for dinner?"  
House raised his brow and replied, "No, I also invited Jake and his mom."  
"That's great. Dr. Cuddy will get to meet Liz too."  
House's face began to light up as he realized that Wilson thought Emma was Lisa. "So, do you think she's hot?"  
Wilson stammered, "She's pretty and has a gorgeous smile."  
"Come on, you can do better than that. What do you really think of her?"  
"She's hot for someone who's pregnant with twins."  
House was desperately trying to control himself from cracking up.

By this time, Cuddy and Jake returned from the bakery. _Cuddy was in the mood for white chocolate cake so the two took a quick run to the bakery before Wilson arrived._  
As Cuddy stayed in the kitchen to checkup on her mom, Jake went over to the family room to say hi to Wilson and his dad.  
"Hey, I didn't even hear you guys come in" Wilson told Jake.  
Jake was about to explain that they didn't ring the doorbell, but instead gone through the garage when an excited House interrupted to say "Wilson thinks your Nana's hot!"  
Jake gave his dad a puzzled look while a defensive Wilson immediately replied "Huh? I say she's hot for someone who's pregnant with twins. Wait, Nana? You mean she's not Liz?"  
House grinned and said "No, that's Emma—she's Lisa's mom and Jake's grandma. I'm sure she'll be happy to know that you think she's hot for a fat woman."  
Wilson's face is now beet red as he realized that he had just dug himself into a corner.

Lisa and Emma came over just in time to rescue Wilson from House's non-stop torments.  
Lisa introduces her mom to Wilson "Mom, this is Dr. James Wilson. James this is Emma, my mom."  
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Cuddy" Wilson politely greets Emma.  
"Please call me Emma."  
House gleefully interjected "Ow, ow, ow my turn. Wilson, I want you to meet Lisa Cuddy—the mother of my children. Speaking of children, Jake here is my spawn number one. At least that's what his mom says anyway." The last sentence earned House an elbow on the rib from Lisa, a scowl from Emma, and a sigh from Jake.

Meanwhile, a completely overwhelmed Wilson had to sit back down on the couch as he tried to absorb what had just happened. A million thoughts ran through his mind _"Did House just say that Dr. Cuddy is the mother of his children? And that Jake is his eldest son? How is that possible? Did they know each other from med school? What about Mr. Cuddy? Was there ever a Mr. Cuddy? What about Stacy? I thought she was the love of his life? Oh, was House serious when he said he and Cuddy did it in the MRI? Did I really call Cuddy's mom hot?"_ Wilson's thoughts were interrupted by Jake informing him that dinner was ready.

***

_**Monday Morning**_

Cuddy strolled in the hospital lobby at around 7:30AM and readied herself for a hectic day. She's now entering her second trimester of pregnancy and was planning to inform the Hospital's Board about her condition. Last night's dinner with Wilson was sort of like a trial balloon for her; she took mental notes on how best to deliver the news to the rest of the Board members.

During regular Board meetings, Cuddy goes through the laundry list of hospital issues with its members. After discussing the last item on the agenda, she asked the Board if they could stay on for one more announcement.

"I'm sure you've all heard the rumors, so I'm here to end the speculations and confirm that I am indeed expecting. The expanding waistline that most of you have been noticing is due to fact I'm carrying twin babies; there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that I'm carrying a hidden compartment to secretly stash hospital supplies." There was a scatter of nervous laughter from Board members, but Wilson broke the tension by animatedly congratulating Cuddy (_again_). Others followed immediately and began asking her questions about how far along she was and what her maternity plans were.

"I'm three months pregnant and I plan to keep working right up until delivery. Given that, I'm expecting twins that plan might change depending on my condition. I also plan to take the normal three months of maternity leave and I will work closely with the Board in finding an interim Dean to replace me when I'm on leave."

The Board was unanimous in their support of Dr. Cuddy's pregnancy except for Dr. Farell. He was one of the older members of the Board and decidedly the most conservative. He never liked Dr. Cuddy; he resented her meteoric rise to her position at such a young age. Dr. Farell raised the issue that the Dean of Medicine is pregnant and unmarried.

Dr. Cuddy calmly addressed Dr. Farell by asking, "Are you concerned that I'm a woman and I can't be a mother and a Dean? Or are you concerned that I'm pregnant and I'm not married?"  
Dr. Farell replied, "I am concerned with both."

"Has the Board been unsatisfied with my performance for the last four years?"  
"You have done a wonderful job in turning things around here Dr. Cuddy. I think that's why the Board renewed your contract for another five years." Dr. Johnson reassured Cuddy and gave her a smile to let her know that he supports her.

Dr. Farell retorted angrily "I don't think the last four years is relevant with how this pregnancy will affect your performance."  
"I think it is relevant. I have been a mother longer than I have been a Dean. My son Jake will be seventeen next summer."  
Dr. Nepar from Pediatrics added, "Jake is a smart and sweet boy. You've done a great job with him, Dr. Cuddy."  
Cuddy nodded at Dr. Nepar, and thanked her.

Dr. Michaels, who herself was a single mother of two young children took exception at Dr. Farell's insinuation that an unmarried woman can't be good a mother and be good at her job.

Dr. Farell noticing that he was losing the discussion decided to change his tactics "Is the rumor true that you're sleeping with Dr. House?"

"First of all, I do not think it is anybody's business who I sleep with. However, it is important for everyone to know that Dr. House is indeed the father of my children. We have been in a consenting relationship (_on and off_) for almost twenty years."

"I understand that our relationship maybe deemed inappropriate by some but the Hospital does not have a non-fraternization policy pertaining to two department heads. If you think that my relationship with Dr. House has or is affecting my judgment regarding hospital matters, the Board has the option to either relieve me of my duties as the Dean of Medicine or as Dr. House's direct supervisor."

Cuddy looked around the table and addressed the Board members "I think I have given you quite a bit to discuss; I will leave you all to decide as to how you want to proceed. Cuddy calmly collected her folder and left the boardroom. The moment she closed the door, she felt her hands shaking and her knees buckling.  
House immediately limped towards Cuddy and asked, "What happened?"


	27. Chapter 27

_**Disclaimer:**__ All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta __**TwiSagaAddict**__._

_***_

After the Board meeting, House walked Cuddy back to her office where she gave him a blow-by-blow account of the discussion.

"You told them about us and our sex life? I thought the plan was to just tell them about the pregnancy."

"I know. Farell just made me so mad and it just came out. I know we agreed that we're not going to flaunt our relationship at work, but I don't want us to lie about it either. I'm tired of seeing our son constantly checking himself not to address you as dad in public. He did not sign-up for this, Greg. And I don't want the twins to go through that when they're around us at work."

House nodded at Cuddy's speech "Got it! No PDA except when the kids are around. While we're renegotiating, I want to amend the 'no sex in the hospital' rule. I want my needs met at a more convenient time and place—like at work."

Cuddy couldn't help but smile at House's ability to make light of everything. It's been a nerve-wracking morning, and she appreciated House's effort to lighten the atmosphere. She simply rolled her eyes and shook her head.

House shrugged his shoulder and asked, "So, what's the chance of the Board firing both of us?"

"Slim to none. First, the hospital's non-fraternization policy only covers department heads and subordinate staff (_not other department heads_). Second, they can't fire me for being pregnant. That will be a sex discrimination lawsuit waiting to happen. Third, they can't fire you because you have tenure and your position is an endowed professorship. Fourth, I have a guaranteed contract. If for any reason they break it without due cause, the hospital will have to pay my entire salary for the duration of my contract."

House smiled broadly, "Now I know why you spend so much money with all these legal sharks, you have all your grounds covered with all these legal loopholes. By the way, I didn't know that the funding for my position was tied to an endowment."

"Yeah, those legal sharks as you call them are worth every dime. I didn't tell you about the endowment stipulation because it would be more reason for you to take on fewer cases."

"Who's the poor schmuck that signed-off on this endowment? And are all departments set-up that way?"

"The late Theodore Tisch, the former owner of our new home. And no, not all departments are set-up like yours. With your long history of being fired, I knew I had to make sure that your job was secure. One of my legal sharks told me about 'endowed professorship', it was an old university practice. I pitched it to Mr. Tisch, who apparently was a big fan of your unorthodox method of diagnostic. He actually went further than what I had asked for; he added the stipulation that the endowment is restricted and non-transferrable (_to another doctor_). Which mean you can walk-away from PPTH and carry the Tisch's endowment with you to another school."

House smirked and pointed to Cuddy's belly "Ok, if we're having boys. We're so naming one of them Ted."

***

Wilson popped his head in Cuddy's office and interrupted House and Cuddy's conversation.  
"Hey guys"  
"Hi Wilson. That was a relatively quick meeting. What's the verdict?" Cuddy asked.  
"The Board thinks if you guys have been together all these time and it hasn't affected your work performances, then why change it? I think most of them (_like me_) were just amazed that somebody can actually put up with House for that long of a period (_without actually killing him_). Besides, none of them wanted the thankless job of supervising House."  
"How did Farell take it?"  
House interrupted "Farell can shove it up his ass!"  
Wilson calmly replied "Not too well, but there's not much he can do. He was outvoted and Johnson was about to start a riot if he didn't shut up."  
Cuddy smiled and replied "Johnson's wife used to be a nurse here. She was bullied into quitting after Farell made a big deal of a nurse dating a resident at that time. This was prior to the non-fraternization policy and the Johnsons couldn't have been breaking any hospital rules.  
"I know there's a reason why I liked Johnson," House adds.

***

_**A Week after**_

Dr. Chase's official start date was not until next week, however Dr. House's assistant called and asked if he could come down for a few hours to get acquainted with the diagnostic department.  
"Thanks for coming, Dr. Chase."  
"Thanks for offering to show me around, mate."  
"No problem, I just wanted to make sure you know your way around when you start next week."  
"Are you going on vacation or something?"  
"No, Thursday is my last day on the job. I'm off to med school."  
"Are you kidding me? You're no more than eighteen. You're already in med school?"  
"I'll be seventeen next summer. Yes, I'm starting my first year of med school in a week."  
"Are you attending PPTH?"  
"No, Harvard med school."  
"You must be pretty smart to get in to Harvard med school at 16 and the fact that Dr. House hired you also says something."  
"Yeah, it just means I have family connections" Jake downplays his achievements.  
Chase grinned and replied "You and me both."

Jake gave Chase a tour of the hospital facilities and showed him how to use the various PPTH online resources (e-mail, timesheet, intranets, accounts for online medical journals, etc.). Jake also introduced him to almost everyone in the hospital except the Dean and the Diagnostician. (_The two were not on the premises due to a doctor's appointment._) After the mini-orientation, Jake and Chase wished each other good luck and parted ways.

***

Cuddy was entering the 15th week of her pregnancy and has noticed that her morning sickness was finally gone for good. She observed that she continued to have a very hearty appetite and often felt ravenous. She was thankful that her boys have been very good at indulging her food cravings.  
_**  
Begin Flashback  
**__It was around midnight and Cuddy was having difficulty sleeping due to constant trips to bathroom. She notices that House hasn't gone to bed, so she decided to join him in the family room and maybe have some chocolate fudge brownie ice cream and banana. She headed to the kitchen and got a piece of banana. She opened the fridge and to her horror found out that, they were out of ice cream.  
Cuddy looked over to the family room and saw House and Jake playing PlayStation games. She yelled, "Greg, do you have my ice cream there?"  
House looked over to Jake and said, "I told you not to finish the ice cream, better go do a midnight run or else you won't hear the end of it."  
Jake groaned but immediately stood up. He walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed his dad's car keys. Cuddy smiled, tousled Jake's hair, and said thank you. _

_After about half an hour, the doorbell rang. Both House and Cuddy look at each. Cuddy's heart started to pound and her mind began to wonder who could be ringing at their door after midnight. She thought, "Oh god, I hope nothing happened to Jake."  
House opened the door and saw his son flanked by a police officer.  
The officer asked, "Does he belong to you?"  
House sarcastically replied, "That's what his mom says anyway. Why? What did he do?"  
The officer stated "Your son has a provisional driver's license and he's not allowed to drive past 11PM nor is he allowed to drive unaccompanied by an adult supervising driver."  
House mockingly retorted "Why? Does he magically turn into a pumpkin after 11PM?"  
Jake groans loudly and Cuddy hearing the exchange immediately pulled House aside and addressed the officer.  
House groaned in protest but step aside as told.  
Cuddy apologetically said, "I am so sorry officer. This is entirely my fault. I was craving for some ice cream and I just sent my son off without thinking what time it was" as she continued rubbing her belly.  
The officer who just about had enough of House's wisecracks was immediately distracted by Cuddy's big belly.  
"Oh, don't worry about it Mrs. House. I actually understand what you're going through my wife and I have four kids. Anyway, I'll just need to write your son a ticket and I'll let you go back to your family."  
The officer opened his ticket citation pad but abruptly stopped and looked at Cuddy closer "Aren't you Dr. Cuddy? You're the dean at the Princeton-Plainsboro hospital?"  
"Yes, I am."  
"I'm Officer Smith. You took care of my wife when she got the flu while she was pregnant with our third child."  
"Oh, how is she and the baby?"  
"They're both doing well. The baby is now four years old and we just had our fourth one about five months ago."  
"That's great to hear."  
"You know what?" Officer Smith looks from Jake to his driver's license and said "Jacob House, I hope you've learned a lesson tonight. Always stock up on ice cream so you don't have to do midnight runs again."  
Jake nodded and replied, "Yes sir."  
The officer shut his citation pad and told Jake "Well, consider yourself warned."  
He looked over to Cuddy, tipped his hat and said, "You have a nice evening now, ma'am."  
_

_**End of flashback  
**_  
This morning Cuddy woke up to find a red spotting on her underwear. She was so worried that she immediately woke House up at six thirty in the morning.  
"Lise, you better be waking me up for a morning grind."  
"Greg, do you think of other things besides sex?"  
"Hmmm…yeah, I think of ways for you have more sex with me."  
Cuddy simply rolled her eyes but immediately gave him a serious look.

"My vaginal discharge is reddish brown instead of clear or white. I'm worried, Greg."  
"How much discharge are we talking about?"  
"Just a small amount, it resembles what I might get at the end of a menstrual period."  
"During pregnancy, the cervix and vaginal walls get softer and discharge increases. Discharges are nature's way of preventing any infections to travel up from the vagina to the womb. I wouldn't worry about it" House reassures Cuddy.

"Greg, I need to tell you something I've never told anyone."  
House looked at Cuddy curiously and asked her to continue.  
"Remember that night in Baltimore, six years ago?"  
"Yeah, that one night I gave you everything you want."  
"Six weeks after that night, I had cramps and spotting. I thought at first that I was having my period but I started bleeding very heavily. Greg, I didn't even know I was pregnant and I lost our baby. I don't want to lose the twins too." Cuddy is sobbing uncontrollably now and House reached out and holds her in a tight embrace.

"**I love you Lise. I will never let anything bad happen to you, Jake, or the twins**."

**  
THE END**


	28. Chapter 28

**NEWS UPDATE:  
**  
If you haven't already come across it, I've written a sequel to this fic. It's called _**Minor Setback II**_ (very original, right?) The story picks up immediately where this story has left off.

By the way, I now have a beta reader who has done a wonderful job proofing/editing the story.

Check it out and let me know what you think.


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